Two Weeks is all it Takes
by ScreamingSnow
Summary: AU. Gilbert Beilschmidt, a Mainlander German, is dragged out to the Islands for two whole weeks. Two weeks! Surrounded by Islanders and without cell service or wifi, Gilbert is sure he won't last the full two weeks he is there. Maybe a certain blonde-haired, violet-eyed Islander can help him make it through and change his mind. PruCan.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is an idea I've had in my head for quite a while now and I have finally chosen to do a fic based off of it. By the way, I am a horrible writer, I have no idea how to "show" instead of "explain"... this is more for my own fun... buuut if you enjoy it, yay!

**Setting**: An alternate world with only one large landmass and several small islands dotted around the world; electricity, boats, and trains exist but there's no cars or airplanes, and there are very few large cities-all of which are on the "mainland". There ARE cell-phones, landlines, internet & computer, etc. Just no planes and cars, which are considered unneeded since trains connect everything and islands are too small for airports.

**Random but Needed Info**: Islanders are greatly discriminated against, and basically everything they do is for the benefit of mainlanders; over half their food and mined minerals go to the mainland. The Mainland is split into different sections where the different languages come into play, but English is the universal language.

**Warnings**: Yaoi, discrimination.

**Pairings**: PruCan mainly, GerIta, SpaMano, and USUK on the side, and mentions of AusHun

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Hetalia.

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><p>"I don't vant to go!" the albino exclaimed, flinging his arms into the air. "Zere's no cell service or internet! Und <em>Vati<em> said ze only electricity is in our hotel, but I can't stay cooped up all ze time in a shitty hotel on a shitty Island!"

"_Mon ami_, ze Islands are not zat bad," Francis, one of Gilbert's best friends, assured. "Zey are really quite... nice, so long as you stay near ze 'otel."

_"Si, mi amigo_, the hotels even have swimming pools," Antonio, Gilbert's other best friend, added to Francis' statement. "And books, of course, but I doubt that's of any interest to you, _no_?"

Gilbert sneered, giving his friend from the "Spainland" an 'are you fucking kidding me' look. "_Ich habe Bücher nicht gern_!" he growled, falling backwards on his bed. Currently the three friends were in the "Germany" section of the Mainland, the "Spaniard" and "Frenchman" there to give support to their "not-German-I'm-Prussian" friend.

"_Amigo_, you can still send us letters," Antonio reminded him. "And your little brother is coming with you."

"_Ja ja, mein kleiner Bruder _who has a damn pole up his ass is coming vith me und Vati to the stupid Island," he sighed, staring at the ceiling with his ruby eyes. "At least I have some Mainland company. I just wish you two _Dummköpfe _could come with me."

"_Lo siento, mi amigo, _but my parents need me here at home to help around the house," Antonio said, shaking his head slightly.

"You know I'm sorry too, _mon ami_, but I 'ave an appointment wiz ze 'air dresser~" Francis said with a charming smile.

"Ja ja, I know," Gilbert muttered, glaring at the ceiling. "I'll be back in _zwei Wochen_ anyvay..."

"Zat's ze spirit, mom ami~"

"Shut up, Francis..."

"Gilbert, what time are you leaving?" Antonio suddenly asked, glancing from the empty suitcase to the clock.

Gilbert thought for a moment. "At five o'clock _Abends_, vhy?"

"Eh, just that it's four thirty already and you're not packed..." Antonio told his albino friend, smiling a wide, slightly idiotic smile.

Gilbert cursed loudly and got up. "Vati vill be pissed off if I'm not ready!" he growled, hurrying over to his closet and pulling various shirts and pairs of pants off their hangers. He dropped them in the open suitcase-"I'll organize it later!"- and went to his dresser to get his underwear and socks. "Francey-pants, can you get my toothbrush for me?" he asked, straightening up the suitcase. Gilbert was in a hurry-they were leaving in like fifteen minutes to the train station-but he was still a Beilschmidt and Beilschmidts were all orderly... even if he was unorderly compared to his brother.

Francis retrieved the desired toothbrush as well as toothpaste, soap, shampoo, conditioner, and deodorant. "Just because ze Islanders smell like ze dirt and salt water does not mean you have to too~" he commented as he handed Gilbert the hygiene supplies.

"_Danke_, Francis," he mumbled, fitting them into spots and quickly closing the suitcase. He was glad he's had the sense to get a nice large one or else he'd have to find a way to wash clothes for the two weeks he'd be gone!

"No problem, Gilbert."

"Gilbert! Come on, ve're about to leave!" Ludwig called from downstairs. Gilbert looked at the clock on his wall again. It was only four thirty-eight. Why were they leaving so early?

"Well, _mon ami_, good luck," Francis said solemnly, though he had his charming smirk on his face as he flicked his blonde hair over his shoulders. "I look forward to your return~" He practically _floated_ out the door. Gilbert scowled after him.

Suddenly two arms went around him in what Gilbert could only describe as a "death hug". "I'm going to miss you so much, Gilbert!" he cried, though no tears slid down his face. "When you get back, tell me all about it! Those nasty Islanders won't poison your mind, I promise!"

"_Danke_, Toni, now let go," he wheezed, and when his Spanish friend let him go, he took a deep breath. "I promise I vill tell you all about ze Island and ze Islanders."

"Good." Antonio started to leave then hesitated. "Good luck, _mi amigo_. See you in two weeks!" Then he hurried away.

"Gilbert!" This time it was Gilbert's father shouting.

"_Ich bin komme, Vati_!" he shouted, grabbing his suitcase and running down the stairs.

"Finally."

**-Meanwhile-**

Matthew wiped the sweat from his brow. He looked up at his two friends, Lovino and Feliciano Vargas. The two boys were naturally tan, so they didn't worry about the sun on their face or shoulders or arms or back or... anyway. Matthew was sure that, if they could get away with it, they'd work pantsless.

He, on the other hand, was extremely pale and his skin burned easily, so he always wore a hat and thin, but covering, clothes, no matter what type of work he was doing.

The farm they were working on didn't belong to Matthew's family. It was the Vargas brothers' farm, owned by their grandfather. The twins worked out there because it was their grandfather wasn't really around anymore... he worked in the mines, even in his old-ish age. Matthew had volunteered to help his "brothers" and make the work go faster. They had each fallen into a routine in the few years.

"Hey!" he called to Lovino, shifting from foot to foot. His voice was quiet, but the farm-boy seemed to hear him anyway. Lovino looked up from the crop of tomatoes he was tending, lips formed into his signature scowling-pout.

"What?" Lovino called back.

"What time is it?"

Lovino glanced at the sky, only really paying it half his attention. "Almost noon. Why? Tired already?" he teased with a smirk.

"No, I'm just done," Matthew answered with a smirk of his own.

"Veeee~ I'm tired, Lovi~" Feliciano called from where he was tending normal grain.

Lovino rolled his eyes. "Well, I think we can turn in for lunch early," he ultimately decided, standing up and stretching. "We can continue after lunch. Feciano, go feed the animals."

Feliciano nodded before running over to the dilapidated tool shed, hanging up his tools before running over to the storage shed which was equally rotting and collapsing in on itself in order to grab the animal feed.

Lovino and Matthew met up at the tool shed, hanging up their own tools.

"Lovino, want me to help you with lunch?" Matthew asked, offering his help. Lovino shook his head slightly.

"Nah, it's cool, Matthew," he said, heading towards the little shack he and his brother called home.

When Lovino was inside and Feliciano at the fence, pouring feed into the troughs and water into others, Matthew looked out towards the sea.

As hard and boring as it was, he enjoyed life as an Islander. It was hard work, and at the end of the day he'd feel satisfied with himself and what he'd done that day.

He did more in one day than a Mainlander did in their entire lives, after all.

**-To Be Continued-**

_Translations_

French and Spanish are obvious...

_**German: Note, I am a German I student in school and though my translations are generally accurate, there will ALWAYS be a better way to say it... because I'm in German I, not German IV or German V. I don't speak German fluently and I will make mistakes.**_

_Vati_: Father/dad

_Ich habe Bücher nicht gern_: I do not like books

_Ja ja, mein kleiner Bruder..._: Yes yes, my little brother...

_Dummköpfe_: Literally means "stupid heads". Basically means idiots, fools.

"_five o'clock Abends_": I need to explain this one. Germany works on the 24 hour clock. They call "5 o'clock PM" as "17 o'clock", or "5 o'clock _Abends_ as opposed to "5 o'clock _Morgens_".

_Abends_: Evening, PM.

_Danke_: Thank you

_Ich bin komme, Vati_: I'm coming, dad.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Chapter 2!

If you didn't catch it in the previous chapter, the Mainland is split into different sections (such as Germany, Spain, France, basically the modern country names) and each Mainland section has a language (our modern-day languages) but English is the overall language. I say English is because it's the only language I'm fluent in, thanks. If this ever gets translated, it'd be whatever it was translated into. Just 'cause I roll like that.

Disclaimer in previous chapter.

SS out~

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><p>Gilbert's scowl deepened when they reached the train station on the Island. It was nice enough-stone and wood, benches, a snack bar-but it didn't make up for the hour long ride... especially the forty-five minutes spent over the fucking <em>ocean!<em>

'Trains over the ocean is a dumb idea,' he thought bitterly to himself. 'One of these days a big wave is going to smash that train bridge and it's going to collapse and a hundred people are going to die!'

Thankfully it was a straight shot between the train station and Mainlander hotel. He followed his father outside and towards the large, skyscraper-like building that was made to accommodate Mainland visitors. The road? path? was made of stone bricks, so much different from the contrete and asphalt he was used to, but the building had a familiar metallic look to it, along with large glass windows, tinted a dark black to keep nosy people from peaking in.

On the left of the large hotel was a large in-ground swimming pool. It looked like it was made from beautiful, shining marble, but he couldn't tell from that distance. The pool extended out into the ocean with a glass barrier around that side to keep the seawater out of the clean, most-likely-chlorine-filled water.

Out front was a courtyard-like area, trees planted in an orchard fashion. Some trees were short and squat, others were tall and proud. The shade they provided looked beautifully cool on the hot Island, a relief for his sore eyes and burning skin.

The grass around the hotel was carefully cut, kept at exactly one-half an inch, if Gilbert had to estimate, and kept at a deep grassy green colour. It was perfect. He, along with his family, went up the blindingly-polished front steps of the hotel.

Luka Beilschmidt, their father, pushed a button that looked like it was from an intercom system. A few seconds passed before a voice said from the speaker, "Hello, welcome to Hotel Mainland, do you have a reservation?"

Gilbert frowned. He felt like they were at McfuckingDonalds. Which, by the way, sucked.

"Yes ve do, ve are ze Beilschmidt family from Mainland Germany," Luka answered the peppy woman. The albino felt sorry for the peppy-and most likely cute-woman, stuck on the Island. At least she worked in a place only Mainlanders were allowed.

"Right, I have you right here! Come right in, you can pay for your... two week reservation and get your key!" The door opened automatically and the three Beilschmidts walked in.

'Fancy," Gilbert noted, noticing the high ceilings and the large, fancy chandelier. The floor was a nice white linoleum, with slightly darker-gray patterns extending across them. The walls on the inside were wood, a beautiful mahogany type, and the chandelier was made of either gold or brass-he wasn't sure- and had what looked like hanging shimmering gems. He could barely see the pure white lights; he was glad he couldn't see it directly, or else he'd probably be momentarily blinded. From the edges of the chandelier, four chains extended to the four corners of the hotel lobby and reception, gold-or brass-adorned with hanging colourful, sparkling gems.

'That'd be so fun to break.'

He looked towards the counter where the reception lady was. He was wrong, she wasn't cute, she was drop-dead gorgeous. She had long brown hair and pale skin and a smile on her face. The albino hardly noticed the granite countertop or all the oakwood shelves behind the girl.

"Your rooms are rooms C-1 and C-3, on the third floor," she told them with a smile, handing Luka the key.

"_Danke_, Ms. Elizaveta."

"Oh, no need for the 'Ms'," the woman, Elizaveta, laughed. "Besides, I'm a married woman."

Gilbert scowled. Of course the most-likely-only hot person on the Island was married.

"Ah, my mistake," Luka smiled pleasantly. "Gilbert, Ludwig, come on. The elevator is this way."

Once finally settled in, Gilbert lay on his bed in the room he shared with Ludwig. Ludwig was sitting in a chair by the large window and reading a book from the bookshelf-lined wall while Gilbert just stared at the clock above the fore-mentioned bookshelf.

He could hear Lukas shifting around his own room next door. Gilbert really wished their father had Ludwig in his own room; every room had only one bed. A queen size mind you but Gilbert did not like sharing his bed with Ludwig. They weren't five-year-olds anymore.

"Ughhh," Gilbert groaned, covering his face with a pillow. "Not even an hour here and I'm bored!" he complained.

"Zen go outside. Go svimming in ze pool or play in ze trees or somezing, just stay out of trouble," Ludwig advised, only giving Gilbert part of his attention.

"But zere is nozing to do on zis stupid Island!"

"Yes zere is, you just don't do anyzing outside of your internet blog und texting," Ludwig shot back without missing a beat.

Gilbert scowled. "Maybe I can go annoy ze Islanders vith my awesomeness," he said, mostly to himself. "Eh, zey don't deserve it."

"Bruder, zink about vat you just said," Ludwig started, glaring at his elder brother. "Zey don't deserve your presence just because zey are Islanders?"

"Vell duh," Gilbert scoffed, sitting up to look at his brother. "Zey are just Islanders. Zey-"

"Raise our food, make our boats und our clothing und ze train tracks und ze vooden supports und ze metal supports, zey mine for our minerals, zey-"

"Since ven have you been on ze Islanders' side?" Gilbert sneered at his younger brother.

"Since alvays, Bruder. You just never cared enough to listen ven I said so," Ludwig answered, not even taking his eyes from the book he was reading. "Even Vati knows my beliefs."

"Your beliefs are stupid," Gilbert muttered, standing up. "I need some fresh air. Your unawesome Islander-wannabe stench is getting to me." Before he turned to the door, he saw Ludwig roll his bright blue eyes. Gilbert scowled and grabbed the key to the hotel each visitor was given. Making sure it was safe in his pocket, the Albino not-German-I'm-Prussian Mainlander walked out the door towards the elevator.

After a minute or two of waiting, he stepped out of the elevator and noticed Elizaveta was still there, this time reading a book. Gilbert pondered going over and flirting with her, then remembered she was already married. 'I am a lot of things,' Gilbert thought, walking past her, 'But a home-wrecker is not one of them.'

He pushed the door open and breathed in the salty air. He loved going to the beach back on the Mainland, so he loved the smell of the ocean. Letting the door fall shut behind him, Gilbert made his way to the edge of the Island, moving uphill. The albino found himself on a small cliff where he could see the water was shallow at the bottom.

The Island was crescent shaped, he suddenly noticed. He had been too busy brooding on the train to notice. Across from him was a higher cliff that the ocean beat against, extending along that entire side of the Island. From the high-cliff area there was a stone bridge, which had stone supports extending into the ocean. It sloped down to meet the lower Island half. It took Gilbert a moment to realize that the side of the Island he was on was separated from the other side by a small canal, which the bridge crossed.

On the taller cliffside was a house, very close to the bridge. Close enough where Gilbert was sure he could jump from the bridge to its roof. The house was made of wood and familiar red bricks, but it looked like the only house like that. Part of the house extended down the side of the cliff and was almost level with Gilbert's eyes. The glass was clear enough for him to barely see a bed from where he was.

Next to the house on the cliff was another, this one made purely out of wood and also extended down the cliff. Gilbert decided that the windows in this house were dirty, because he couldn't see anything.

From where he was, he could just barely see what looked like a dock around the cliff. He assumed either a house or business was there.

The only other thing he could see was a sea-level stone bridge extending out into the distance. He frowned. 'Won't that get covered in high tide? Or is it already high tide?' he wondered to himself. 'Oh well.'

"Gilbert!" he heard his father call. Gilbert turned around.

"Over here, Vati!" he called back.

"I'm going to ze mining Island to check up on ze miners. Stay out of trouble."

"Ja, Vati! Vill do!" Gilbert called, his eyes following the place his father's voice came from. He was hidden by the little orchard thing.

"You better," Lukas warned, now on the bridge. "If I hear about you disturbing anybody's vork, zere vill be hell."

"Ja ja, understood."

He watched his father cross the bridge and disappear out of sight. Apparently the cliff was a hill from the other side, and his father was going down and around it.

Gilbert stopped paying attention then and walked lazily over to the bridge. It was a bit scary looking-thin with low stone rails that you're more likely to trip over than hold on to. But of course, nothing was too scary for the albino Ger-ah, excuse me, Prussian Mainlander.

With a grin, he started crossing the bridge. There was a house near the water again, on the left side of the bridge. If he was more confident in the stone rails, he'd try to jump on the wooden roof.

'I was right!' he mentally cheered, noting how the path on the other side sloped down and around the cliff-hill-whatever-thing. There were more homes lining the sides of the single path, some out of the way and others right along it.

Each house, minus the one brick house and the stone house with the dock that definitely looked like a fishery, looked pretty much the same. Wooden houses-more like shacks, to be honest- with stone bases to keep the wood out of the water. There were no two-story houses.

He noticed a small wooden building with yet another train bridge heading off in a different direction, but paid it no mind. It wasn't important to the albino.

Stretching his arms above his head, he walked through the small Island village. There were children running around, some playing and others going from house to house and handing relatively-young women wood, meat, or vegetables of some type. All the doors were open and smoke drifted lazily out. Gilbert concluded that the villagers only had woodstoves. So primitive.

Some people were sitting together on the grass, just talking. Others were headed in one direction or another. He noticed a... boy? with long dark-brown hair climbing in a large unkept tree.

Of course, he paid them no mind, not meeting any of their eyes. He could feel their curious gazes on his back as he walked past them, a smirk playing on his lips.

'Yes, bask in my awesome presence, it's the only time you unawesome Islanders will-' his thought cut off abruptly as he suddenly collided with something. He didn't fall, but the person he ran into sure did.

The startled Albino looked down and saw a pale blonde man, with shoulder-length slightly-wavy hair and one long, unruly curl dangling in front of his face. If his hair was more golden, Gilbert might have mistaken this Islander for Francis at first glance.

"Vatch vere you are going, Islander," he said with a scowl. The boy looked up at him and Gilbert was a bit surprised to see violet eyes. The only other violet-eyed person he knew was Ivan from school.

"Oh, s-sorry!" the boy apologized quickly, his voice extremely soft, as he gathered together whatever he had been carrying. Gilbert noticed with slight disgust that it was fish, freshly dead. _Islanders are so disgusting..._

"Yea, vatever, I don't care," Gilbert stated, shaking his head. "Now get out of my-"

"Matthew!" another voice called, taking Gilbert off guard. Mainly because this person had an accent reminiscent of a Mainlander from Mainland England. He looked over and saw a short, pale man, no older than the boy on the ground, with unruly blonde hair and monstrous eyebrows hurrying over to help his fallen friend. Gilbert could see the worry in his grassy-green eyes. They were pretty eyes, Gilbert had to admit... but not as pretty as this Matthew's eyes. Or unique. "Are you alright, Matthew?"

"Yes, I'm fine, Arthur, thank you," Matthew replied quietly, moving out of Gilbert's way to meet his friend. "I have to go wash the fish off again... I'm sorry, Arthur."

"It's okay, mate," Arthur replied, sending Gilbert a dirty look. Gilbert sneered back at the stupid... Islander? Gilbert couldn't tell. He was on friendly terms with an established Islander but he himself sounded like a Mainlander. The albino was so confused.

Either way, he was sympathizing for a dirty Islander.

"Arthur," Matthew started quietly, grabbing his friend's arm. Gilbert realized Arthur had started to move towards him, apparently having something to say to Gilbert's face. The young man, Arthur, looked at Matthew, who glanced to the left. Arthur followed his line of sight, and curiously Gilbert looked in that direction as well.

There were Mainland guards. Gilbert hadn't noticed them before, but there were three men dressed in Mainland soldier's garb watching the confrontation. One had a second hand on his gun, looking like he was about to aim.

Gilbert had a feeling it wasn't going to be aimed at himself.

"Arthur, come on, let's get back to work," Matthew said quietly, tugging on his friend's shirt towards the house they supposedly came from. Arthur shot another dirty look at Gilbert, though he went with his worried friend willingly.

He watched the duo until they were out of sight before glancing back over at the soldiers. They, too, were watching the duo.

**-To Be Continued-**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**: Aye, Chapter 3. This is so bad, I'm sure, I'd rather do a comic on it, but I can't draw Hetalia characters... yet...

SS out~

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><p>Matthew was still shaken from his run-in with the white-haired Mainlander. He knew the soldier-guards weren't going to go for the Mainlander. If there was a fight between Arthur and the albino-guy, no matter who was at fault... Matthew knew he'd never see his green-eyed friend again.<p>

He ran the rag over the fish scales, glancing over at Arthur. Arthur was helping him again, just as he had earlier.

"Lovino is going to be pissed that you're late," Arthur commented.

"It's the afternoon..."

"Yes, but weren't you going to visit him and Feliciano for dinner?" the green-eyed Islander asked his violet-eyed friend, glancing over. "It is their birthday, after all."

"I know... I hate that I'm late," Matthew sighed, setting the fish in the basket. "I should have been paying attention."

"Matthew, don't you-"

"No, it's true. I wasn't paying attention and I ran across the path to get to the farm station. I didn't see the Mainlander there..." Matthew sighed again and rubbed his forehead. His hands smelled like fish, but he didn't really care. "I know usually it _is_ their fault but this time it really wasn't. He looked like he didn't even want to touch one of us, let alone run into us."

Arthur was about to respond when an irritating voice interrupted.

"Vat ze hell vas zat?"

Both Islanders nearly dropped the fish they were holding and spun around to look at the albino Mainlander.

"W-what was what?" Matthew asked, glancing aside. He didn't want to offend the Mainlander by looking him in the eye. He'd made that mistake before...

"Whot do you want, Mainlander?" Arthur asked, a scowl forming on his face.

Gilbert ignored Arthur, deciding that Matthew was the one who would talk to him in a more respectful way. "Vat ze hell vas vith zose soldiers? Vhy are zere Mainland soldiers on a puny little Island?"

"Isn't it obvious? To make sure no one tries to escape or... bother... Mainlanders," Matthew answered, glancing at Arthur. Arthur simply scowled and turned back to his work.

The albino was silent for a few moments, thinking about this new information. As he did, he glanced around the house.

He was only a few feet away from the blonde duo, who were standing at a basin of some sort that served as a sink, which was next to a woodstove and across from a tiny wooden table. The house didn't have any walls inside it to divide out rooms. The other side of the large room dipped down like a downstairs and was split in half by a loft. The loft had three beds in it. In the "downstairs" bit under the loft there was a bookshelf in one corner next to a rinky-dinky brown couch, and what looked like badly-made fridges on the other side. He could barely see a small door in the corner, probably going into a basement area. Directly opposite the front door was another door, probably the dock.

Even the inside of the fishery was stone.

The saddest part was that, from what Gilbert had seen so far, this was the nicest house in the entire village... thing...

"Whot are you still in my house for?" the Briton-sounding Islander demanded, finally turning around to glare.

"Arthur, please don't attract attention," Matthew whispered even quieter than he usually did, glancing out a window worriedly towards the soldiers.

"You have got some guts for an Islander," Gilbert commented, crossing his arms. "Zis house is pazetic. I've seen better on ze Mainland."

"Well no duh," Arthur rolled his eyes. "We only give the Mainland ninety-five percent of everything we have."

"Feisty too. You should vatch zat mouth of yours."

"Arthur," Matthew interrupted Arthur's retort, "How about you come with me to Lovino and Feliciano's? You haven't been there in a while, let's go...!"

Arthur frowned. He knew very well Matthew was trying to stop an oncoming fight. Truth be told, Arthur knew better than to start a fight with a Mainlander. Even if he was stronger than a Mainlander, he knew he stood no chance against a gun.

"Alright, fine. Are we done with cleaning the fish?"

"Yes, Arthur, let's just go..."

Gilbert watched the two as they picked up the baskets and turned to the door. He didn't move.

"Move it, Mainlander."

"Make me, Briton."

Arthur blinked. "Briton? I'm not a Briton, you twat."

"You sound like one," Gilbert smirked.

"Islanders do have ancestral roots in the Mainland, Mainlander," Arthur scowled. "My roots are in Britain, but I am an Islander. We are not divided like you Mainland scum. Now move!"

Mentally, Gilbert tucked away the knowledge that Arthur didn't like being associated with the Mainland in such a direct fashion.

"Please excuse us," Matthew cut in Gilbert's thoughts and Arthur's rant, nudging his friend slightly. "We have somewhere important to be." Gilbert pondered antagonizing them even more, but... to be honest, the soft-spoken blonde really caught his attention. He had no clue why.

"Vatever," Gilbert shrugged, stepping aside to let them out. Matthew quickly went past before Gilbert could change his mind. Arthur followed at a slower pace, still glaring at Gilbert. The albino smirked. "Have fun, Briton~!" he called tauntingly.

"I'm not a Briton, you git!"

"Arthur! Now we're going to be even more late!"

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><p>After once again cleaning the fish that Arthur dropped, the two finally were at the small train station that Gilbert had noticed off to the side. Gilbert followed them, not really knowing why... maybe because there was nothing better for him to do. Plus, he decided this blonde duo was... interesting.<p>

The two stood by the empty tracks, looking out over the long train-bridge. Gilbert assumed they were waiting for the train. According to the train schedule, it only ran two times a day every Monday and Thursday... once in the morning, once at night.

It was Monday, a little past seven...

Over the horizon a train appeared. It wasn't going as fast as Mainland trains, but it was still fast.

Once it got to the station, though, Gilbert realized that the train wasn't even a passenger train. It had an engine and one train-buggy-whatever-thing, and some Islanders got to work unloading dead things and crops and... stuff. Gilbert wasn't sure he wanted to know. He looked back towards Arthur and Matthew and noticed they had left their spot. Shifting his gaze along, he saw them walking _on the train bridge._

...

_Nope. I'm going back to the hotel._

* * *

><p>"That git finally stopped following us," Arthur noted, glancing over his shoulder towards the station. "Probably too cowardly to walk across."<p>

"Or lazy," Matthew giggled. It was a pretty long walk, but he was used to it. He made the walk every day! Around five o'clock every morning and four o'clock every afternoon. It was the third time he was walking across that day, but it was for a special occasion; it was the twins' sixteenth birthday. Matthew thought they'd appreciate having fish for once, instead of pork or beef or chicken or no meat at all.

"Perhaps both," Arthur suggested with a laugh. Then he sighed, though it was a contented sigh, and smiled slightly. "Ah, doesn't the wind feel wonderful?"

"It does," Matthew agreed with a smile. "Smells like sea salt, of course."

"Of course. No better smell in the world, if you ask me!" Arthur stated matter-of-factly. "The Mainland can keep their factories. I quite enjoy our simple life here."

"Me too," Matthew smiled. "There's so much to do that the Mainlanders don't even know of."

"Like the tunnel systems below the island," Arthur chuckled, obviously remembering the time he, Matthew, and Lovino- on one of Lovino's rare trips to the Main Island- went swimming and found the underwater tunnels. There were air pockets, of course, or else they would have drowned...

"Exactly!" Matthew smiled with his friend, remembering the discovery as well. That day had been an amazing day. It was Sunday, and by law of the Mainland, they weren't allowed to do more than necessary work- feeding the animals, feeding themselves, stuff like that. It was the one day the Islanders got to play around and relax _all_ day instead of only late afternoon. Lovino and Feliciano had come for a visit after feeding their animals. Feliciano had been too scared to dive off the cliff-side that Matthew lived on, but Lovino was all for it.

They had been feeling rather adventurous that day, so instead of climbing back up and just diving again, the three of them- Matthew himself, Lovino, and Arthur- swam around a little. The salt water had long ago stopped bothering them, so it wasn't hard to keep their eyes open under the water.

It had been Lovino who spotted the little cave. The three brave Islanders didn't hesitate to explore... after surfacing and getting air.

Coming out of his memories, Matthew turned to his friend. "So, how are we going to talk our way out of Lovino's anger?" he asked with a sigh.

"Easy, tell him the truth. Some Mainlander git got in our way."

**-Meanwhile-**

"Seriously, valking on a train track? How stupid can anyone be?" Gilbert demanded, looking over at his brother. Ludwig didn't look too impressed.

"Perhaps it vas ze only vay zey could get to vhere zey vere going," he suggested, glancing up from his books. "But it is not our business."

Gilbert frowned and looked out the window. He could see the village-town thing and the rinky-dinky "train" station and the train-bridge. From that height he could just barely see another, smaller island, but obviously he couldn't make out anything even close to it, not even the dotted forms of Arthur and Matthew.

"Vhy vould it be so hard to make a train for zem to ride?"

"You're starting to sound like me, Gilbert," Ludwig commented. He was paying more attention to his book now, so he didn't notice Gilbert tense at his words. "Ze answer is simple enough. Mainlanders don't like to make ze Islanders' lives easy. Vhy do you zink ze Mainlanders take most everyzing zey have? Vhy do you zink ze Mainlanders only let zem rest one day, in relation to a Mainland religion? Vhy no electricity or indoor plumbing? No proper building materials or-"

"Alright, alright, I get it, do ze shutting up zing now," Gilbert growled. "I get it, our people treat ze Islanders bad simply because zey vant to. But come on, if zey did somezing like fall off ze bridge, zat's two less vorkers ve have!"

"Gilbert..." Ludwig shook his head. For a moment he'd thought Gilbert had seen the light...

"Vaaaaat?"

**-To Be Continued-**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Yes, I really have NOTHING better to do than write and update way too damn soon. Maybe I'll write a lot of chapters but instead of posting immediately, make a schedule... Maybe... I dunno.

**Blue Moon**: D'aww, I don't think my way with words is very good but I'm glad you like it! Yea, it is hard to find commonly-updated really good PruCan fics... I'm glad you think this is one of those! And I'm glad you think so, it's been stuck in my head for nearly a year...

Can't say I really like how this chapter turned out, but yea. I promise things will start getting interesting, I promise!

SS Out~

* * *

><p>Gilbert stared out the window as the sun set. The light on the water was bright orange and hurt his eyes, but he couldn't draw his eyes away. Instead he watched the sun slowly settle over the watery horizon, reflecting orange in the water and turning the sky a mix of oranges and pinks and violets. The island the blonde duo had gone to earlier that afternoon seemed to glow in the middle of the light.<p>

The window faced west, obviously. The albino hadn't realized the Island was longer east to west than it was north to south until he'd glanced up and out the window and saw the water turning gold.

It was a beautiful sight if he'd ever seen one. There was no sight that rivaled that on the Mainland.

Well, except maybe an explosion... or if you lived near a beach... but that was beside the point.

The point was, Gilbert hadn't know something so beautiful could occur on the Islands.

From his bed, he could see the people on the Island going about their evenings, probably preparing dinner for late arrivals or helping older and younger people. Very few stopped to enjoy the sunset.

They were used to the golden reflections. They'd grown up with them; they could stop and watch it any day they pleased. There was no reason to waste the remaining sunlight when there was still work to do.

Gilbert couldn't understand that.

Of course he'd never admit it to Ludwig, who too stared out the window towards the sun-golden sea. _Große Bruder_ had a reputation to keep up!

...

Yet still, right before the sun finally fell, and the sea turned from gold to black, Gilbert couldn't help but admit it to himself.

* * *

><p>The next morning, Gilbert woke up to find his brother was already gone. Deciding he wasn't yet hungry, the albino chose to instead walk outside in the fresh morning air.<p>

Gilbert found himself standing on the small cliff, looking over at the larger cliffside with the two houses on it. He was blocked from the sight of the hotel by the little orchard they had. It was a peaceful morning, not very bright at all, but it wasn't dim either.

_I wish I had some phone service, ugh... I want to call Toni or Francey-Pants..._ he thought to himself. He was incredibly bored. From where he was, he couldn't see the Islanders, but he knew they were either working or running around handing out foodstuff. Still not hungry, Gilbert just sat there for a while... until he heard a familiar voice carry on the wind from the other side of the Island.

"Matthew! You forgot your hat!" It was the Briton-sounding Islander he had met yesterday, calling out to the violet-eyed one. He couldn't hear Matthew's response, it faded long before it reached him, but the Briton-Islander- Arthur? Gilbert didn't really care to actually remember- responded to it with, "Well that's your own fault for staying up late!"

This piqued the albino Mainlander's curiosity. He wanted to know what the hell was going on.

It wasn't even ten in the morning when Gilbert found himself crossing that unnervingly-thin bridge.

When he reached the village-town thing, Matthew was already gone and Arthur was outside someone else's house, apparently helping with... weeding? Gilbert didn't know anything about that whole "gardening" thing. He hadn't even realized Islanders had _time_ to garden.

To be honest it was a rather pathetic garden, but Gilbert chose not to say anything. Instead he stared at Arthur until the Bri-sorry, Islander looked up from what he was doing.

"Oh, you again. Whot do _you_ want?" he demanded, wiping his dirty hands off on a rag he had around his neck. The young woman next to Arthur, who looked oddly Mainland-Asian, glanced worriedly at her friend, but continued her work.

"I just heard you und zat Matzew _Junge _talking all ze vay from ze ozer side of ze Island, I just vanted to know vhat it vas about, Briton," Gilbert smirked, crossing his arms. Arthur raised one monstrous eyebrow at him.

"Be careful there, Mainlander, some people might start thinking you actually care about us _lowly Islanders_," he said sarcastically with a roll of his grassy orbs. "Matthew works with the Vargas brothers on the farm Island. You almost followed us there yesterday but chickened out, remember?"

Gilbert's smirk fell into a scowl. "Hey! I did _not_ "chicken out" as you say I did! I just had better zings to do zan follow some Islanders to somevhere I did not even know! You don't know me like zat!"

"Will you stop yelling like that," Arthur hissed, glancing over towards the station. Gilbert glanced over as well and saw one of the soldiers from yesterday looking over at them. "Fine, fine, you didn't chicken out, just stop yelling. Matthew just slept in this morning and Lovino's going to be mad as hell because he missed some early-morning chores," Arthur finally explained.

"Arthur," the dark-haired companion started, "Can we just finish weeding this garden so we can get to more important stuff-aru?" It wasn't until then Gilbert realized this long-haired person was a boy.

"Yes, Yao, we really should. Your sister would be mad if we spent all our time doing this..." Arthur sighed. He glared towards Gilbert. "Now if you will excuse us, we have work to do. Your hotel has a nice swimming pool for you to swim in, spend your whole time in there if it pleases you." He began yanking up a deeply-rooted spindly brown weed. "Or go write a letter to your Mainland friends. You do know you can send letters along the train, right?"

"Vhat?!" Gilbert immeditaly perked up at that. The Mainland-German had been busy watching the weed the Islander was yanking at not budge, but that had been getting boring. He strode forward and pushed Arthur's hand aside, and in one tug had the root out of the ground. "You mean zere is actually contact vith ze Mainland?!"

Arthur and Yao both stared at the rooted monstrosity in Gilbert's hand, something they themselves would have had to eventually grab a shovel for. They were both shocked that a Mainlander could possess enough strength for that.

"W-well of course," Arthur answered upon recovering. "Whot did you expect? How else would the mining overseers contact Mainland officials like your father?" Gilbert dropped the weed on their little pile of twisting and even flowering weeds, a grin on his face. "Just write a letter, put it in an addressed envelope, and drop it in the box labeled "Mainland Mail". You can get paper and stuff from your "Hotel Mainland" lobby-desk."

Gilbert was about to run off immediately to send a letter, but stopped suddenly. "Vait!" He whirled around to look at Arthur. "Vhy do you know so much about zat? Ze vay you make it sound, only Mainlanders can use it."

"It's none of your business!" Arthur snapped, quickly averting his eyes to the roots.

"I have a few theories myself-aru~!" Yao chimed in cheerfully, looking at Arthur with a very odd smirk. It looked almost... lewd. Almost.

"Shut up, Yao."

Gilbert watched the two argue... well, Arthur argue and Yao laugh. He imagined Matthew there, smiling calmly and watching his friends, just happy they were happy.

Then he saw himself, Antonio, and Francis. Himself arguing with Francis, who was laughing and giving lewd gestures, and Antonio just sitting there, smiling... just happy his friends were happy...

"Whot are you staring at?" Arthur demanded, having noticed Gilbert's stare. Gilbert blinked.

"Just zinking," he trailed. "You... act a lot like Mainlanders," he added, though without his usual tone of annoying-intent. He started walking away, listening to both of them angrily shout that they were one-hundred percent _Islander,_ thank you very much! He chuckled. "Islanders who act like Mainlanders..." he added under his breath, crossing back over the bridge.

Wasn't really anything interesting to do until Matthew and Arthur were done working, he decided. _Might as well go write that letter!_

**-Meanwhile-**

Matthew glanced up from where he was tending to Lovino's cherished tomato plants. Lovino, who stood just a few feet away from him, was still mad; first he was late to their little celebration, and then he was late for work the next day. Matthew didn't even have the Mainland-bastard excuse that morning. Lovino had accepted that excuse without hesitance, but sleeping in? It was so unlike Matthew that Lovino had a hard time accepting it.

Feliciano, on the other hand, was happy he made it at all. He was humming happily while taking care of some corn they were growing. The stalks were tall and the ears large, and Matthew hoped the Mainland didn't take all of it.

If he had to guess, Matthew would say it was just before ten in the morning. The sun wasn't harsh quite yet, but his sensitive skin on his neck felt like it was burning. Even when Arthur had called he forgot his hat, he didn't go back for it. He didn't want to be any later than he already was.

He took a big enough risk running all the way along the tracks as it was. One trip and he could have been sent into the ocean!

Not that that was really a problem, but he didn't know if there was a current out there or not...

"-thew!" Matthew's head jerked up and he was looking into Lovino's sharp golden eyes.

"A-ah, sorry, what was that?" he asked sheepishly.

"I said we can take a break. You were spacing out and I don't want my fucking tomatoes ruined by your spacey-clumsiness," he clarified, glancing aside with a light flush on his face. Matthew might have been one of Lovino's best friends, but like hell he would admit he was actually concerned for the blonde's safety.

Matthew smiled, knowing how to read past his friend's harshness. "Sorry for making you worry... about the tomatoes, of course," he added, chuckling. He stood up straight and stretched.

"Ve~ Why aren't you wearing your hat?" Feliciano questioned, wandering over to them.

"Ah, in my haste to get here before I was any more late, I forgot it," he explained with a sheepish smile. "I didn't go back for it, and I probably would have lost it. I ran all the way here."

Lovino gave him an uncharacteristically-worried glare. "You _ran_ on the bridge? You could have tripped and fallen into the water! _Idiota_!"

"I know, I know... but I didn't," Matthew smiled. Lovino scowled.

"But you could have. N-not that I'm worried for _your_ well-being, if you had died no one else would help us-"

"I understand," Matthew interrupted with a laugh. "Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere anytime soon.

* * *

><p><em>Dear Francey-Pants and Toni,<em>

_Ja! I'm writing two of this kick-ass letter so I don't have to think of different things to say! Ha, we're all friends, who cares!_

_So this Island is boring until sometime in the evening. Everyone here just works works works! I did meet three strange Islanders, they all three sound like Mainlanders but they are definitely unawesome Islanders! They even have Mainland-sounding names, can you believe that? Matthew, Arthur, and Yao. Matthew sounds American or whatever that section nearby it is called- Candia? Canadia? whatever! His accent is actually very weak so I don't think he's heard it too much, maybe early childhood, who knows. Arthur sounds like a Briton, though when I call him that he yells at me. It's totally fun to get on his nerves! and Yao sounds like he's from the Asian division, no clue which section of Asia, something! China or Japan, but he doesn't sound like Kiku, so I don't think he's Japanese._

_But yea, so these unawesome Islanders do work all day, many until the sun sets. The sunset here is awesome! Even the awesome me has to say it was amazing. The entire ocean on the west was painted gold! The farm Island, that's where they apparently grow plants and raise meat for eating and stuff, looked like it was glowing in the middle of it all... and the sky was different shades of oranges, golds, pinks, purples, everything like that! I've never seen a sunset like that! And most of the Islanders worked right through it! Can you believe that?_

_Okay so that paragraph sounded totally unawesome. But that's not the point! The point is the Islanders are boring and do nothing but work. Of course those soldiers might have something to do with it... oh right! The soldiers! Completely slipped my mind! Every time I talk to those Islanders I told you about earlier- purely for the entertainment of pissing them off- they get jumpy and start looking at these soldiers. They're Mainland soldiers! With guns! And every time I mess with Arthur, they watch us. First day when I literally ran into little blondie Matthew boy the Briton-Islander-guy totally started yelling at me and looked like he was about to fight me and the soldiers looked like they were about to take aim! Can you believe that?_

_But ja, that's all that's happened so far in my two days worth really talking about... well, day and a half.. wait, I got here yesterday evening... so it hasn't even been a day. Huh. Feels like it's been forever! I really want to call or text you guys, my hand is really hurting writing so much. Ugh, if our literature teacher could see this she'd die just so she could roll over in her grave! _

_So what's up with you two? What awesome things have happened back home? I can't wait to go home!_

_Your totally awesome and impossible to forget friend, Gil!_

**-To Be Continued-**

_Große Bruder_: Big Brother

_Junge_: Boy


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**: Next chapter!

I should go ahead and warn you I probably won't be able to write again until, like, Monday... I share a room with my sister and I hate writing when she's in the room, she's nosy.

**Penguin357**: Thank you, I'm so glad~!

Another chapter I don't like, but it introduces Gilbert and Ludwig to the Vargas brothers AND Matthew has a small, short confrontation with Gilbert...

SS Out~

* * *

><p>Francis read over Gilbert's letter, a bit amused. "It seems to me zat our friend likes ze Island, oui?" he asked Antonio, who was sitting beside him on his bed. Antonio laughed slightly.<p>

"It seems that way. Do Islanders really sound like Mainlanders, though?"

"Some of zem do, oui," Francis confirmed with a nod. "More often zan not zey 'ave Mainlander grandparents or parents, you know, ze Mainlanders who choose to stay on ze Islands and marry or somezing."

"Why would anyone do that, though?" Antonio frowned, confused. "Any children they had would be considered purely Islander and forbidden to leave, si?"

"Oui, zat is right," Francis sighed dramatically. "I would assume zey stay for l'amour~ If a Mainlander falls in love with an Islander, they can choose to stay with zem, or zey can leave wizout. Islanders can't come to ze Mainland, it's against ze law. Even if ze parents are Mainlanders... if a child is born on ze Islands... It is truly tragic~"

Antonio frowned suddenly. "Wait, isn't that what happened to Alfred and his brother?"

"What?"

"Don't you remember?" Antonio sat up from where he was laying back, looking at Francis. "Alfred tells us about it all the time. His parents were taking a trip to the Islands, leaving him home with his grandparents, and his mother went into labor. When they got on the train to go back to the Mainland, they took the child away... remember? Alfred's been plotting ways to "be a hero" and "save his brother" since we were all children."

"Ah, oui, oui, I remember now," Francis nodded. "It is unfortunate, 'e doesn't even know what ze boy looks like..."

"I like to think they'll get a happy ending," Antonio stated with a small pout. "I'd hate it if I knew someone stuck on the Islands..."

* * *

><p>"Gilbert, vill you stop zat?!"<p>

"Stop vhat, mein Bruder?" Gilbert snickered, watching his brother from where he was hanging upside down off the side of his bed.

"Sit up right before all ze blood rushes to ze space your brain would be occupying if you had one!"

"Ouch, bro, ouch," Gilbert laughed, flipping over and off the bed so he landed on his feet and straightened up. He stood still for a few moments while the world spun, then wandered over to the window. "Zere's nozing to do here, can ve go home yet?"

"It's only been one day," Ludwig sighed. "Go outside und svim or somezing, it's hot enough for it."

"Only if you come vith me!"

"Nein."

"Ja."

"Nein."

"J-"

"Gilbert, stop being so childish!" Ludwig interrupted. "I'm reading!"

Gilbert stuck his tongue out at his younger brother. "Fine, let's not go svimming. Let's go to the village town thing!"

"It's called a village on the Islands, Gilbert," Ludwig clarified with a sigh. "Fine, I'll come vith you to ze village, but only to keep you in line," he gave in, snapping his book closed.

The albino brother grinned. "Alright."

* * *

><p>"Why the fuck are we coming to your house again? I could be at home checking on my tomatoes or some other shit like that," Lovino complained, but Matthew knew he was happy to get out of the shack he sadly had to call home. It was around five o'clock in the evening, about the time Matthew always returned to his own house.<p>

"Because I want to go swimming with you and Arthur," Matthew answered. Lovino knew where Matthew wanted to go swimming. The blonde Islander wouldn't be dragging him to the main Island if he wanted to just _swim_. "You're the one dragging Feliciano along."

"Like hell I'm leaving this idiot at home alone!"

"Ve...?"

"Don't worry about it, Feliciano," Matthew laughed, stepping off of the track and onto the wooden floor of the little station. "You can talk to Yao while Lovino, Arthur, and I are swimming."

Before they reached the doorway, a rough, German-accented voice reached their ears.

"Come on, Luddy, you never do anyzing fun!"

"Gilbert, if you fall, I vill not be coming to save you."

"Ja, ja, like ze awesome me vill fall unawesomely off some cliff."

"That's the Mainlander I told you about yesterday," Matthew sighed. "The stupid-sounding one..."

"Great," Lovino grumbled, stalking out the door. "And I can't even cuss him into tomorrow because of those fucking soldiers... why are they already looking at me?!"

"Well, last time you did try to attack one of them..."

"They were pointing a fucking gun at Feliciano, what else was I supposed to do?!" Lovino growled defensively.

"Ah! Zere you are!" Matthew winced and looked at the albino. "Gott, zis place is boring vizout you und zat Briton to bozer-"

"I'm not a Briton!" Arthur ran over to Matthew and Lovino, glaring at Gilbert. Then he turned to his friends and whatever he was about to say immediately changed... and he laughed. "Matthew, you look like a burnt lobster."

"Thank you for that observation, Arthur," Matthew sighed. "Come on, you, me, and Lovino are going swimming." Arthur raised a bushy brow and looked at Lovino, who was glaring at the Mainlanders. "Let's just go before he starts a fight," the blonde pleaded, heading towards the brick house. Arthur sighed.

"Lovino, come on," he called, gesturing him to follow.

The dark-haired Islander flicked Arthur off half-heartedly before turning to say something to his brother in rapid Italian. Gilbert was confused by this. Italian was a Mainland language...

"Ve~ Okay!" Feliciano nodded and Lovino huffed before following Arthur and Matthew to the house. As soon as Lovino was out of sight, Feliciano bounded over to the Mainland brothers. "Hi there~! I'm Feliciano Vargas~!"

Ludwig and Gilbert were both astonished by the little bubbly farmer's enthusiasm. Most Islanders looked at them with suspicion and even hatred, but never... oblivious joy. "Ah... I'm Ludwig Beilschmidt, und zis is my brother, Gilbert," Ludwig responded, having recovered first.

"Nice to meet you~!" Feliciano laughed. "Mio fratello, Lovino, told me to stay far far away from you but you don't seem like bad people~! I think you're nice!"

Gilbert frowned slightly. "Your bruder is zat moody creature?"

"Awww, Lovino's not moody! He's just kind of a dick~!"

There was a few moments of silence before Gilbert burst out laughing. Ludwig sighed and hid his face behind one hand. "Do you even know vhat zat means?" he asked the airheaded Italian.

"Of course! I know both meanings, why?" Feliciano tilted his head curiously. Before Ludwig could respond, Lovino tackled him.

"I told you not to talk to those bastards!" he scolded, pulling Feliciano in the direction of Yao's house. "They're fucking Mainlanders, Feliciano!"

"Veeee~ But they seem so nice!"

Lovino shot the Beilschmidt brothers a glare. "That's what they want you to think."

The albino Beilschmidt blinked. "A bit jumpy, zat one," he commented, turning back to look at Matthew's house, where Matthew was standing with Arthur. Both seemed to be facepalming.

Gilbert then noticed all three of those Islanders weren't wearing shirts. He had no idea what they were doing in that house, though; taking your shirt off wasn't that big of a deal. He supposed they were probably talking privately.

When Lovino returned, giving another glare to the Germans, he kicked Matthew's door shut and walked over to the cliffside. "Come on, bastards, let's just go."

The Mainlander brothers exchanged glances then looked around. No one else seemed to be batting an eye at this behavior... or the fact that three of their people were jumping off a cliff- _wait, what?_

Ludwig watched in surprise and went over to the cliffside, peaking over. He saw ripples in the water where the three had cut through, but he couldn't really see much further down in the deep water. Gilbert peaked over as well.

"Did zey just jump in zere?!" Gilbert exclaimed, staring at the water.

"No," Ludwig answered sarcastically. "Zey valked down ze side of ze cliff."

"You and sarcasm are not a very good match, Ludwig," Gilbert muttered, a bit embarrassed by his stupid question.

"Ai-ya... Why do you two Mainlanders seem so surprised-aru?" Gilbert looked over at Yao, who was also without a shirt now. It was quite obvious he was a man without a shirt on. "Did you really expect Islanders to just sit around during our free time?"

"That's what I do~!" Feliciano practically sang, raising his hand in the air. Yao rolled his eyes.

"Aside from Feliciano, of course..."

"Aww, why aside from me?" Feliciano pouted. Yao looked at him.

"... I would drop you in the water, but then Lovino would kill me-aru," he sighed after a few seconds of silence. "Stop acting like idiot, I know you are just as smart as your brother-aru."

"But Lovi's no fun when he's being smart~"

"And-"

"Um," Ludwig interrupted, "Vhat exactly is going on?"

Yao blinked. "What do you mean? Feliciano always act this way around new people-aru. He lives on the farm Island, he doesn't come here much-aru."

Feliciano pouted and crossed his arms. "I've never met a Mainlander before," he said. "Lovino said Mainlanders are bad so I thought, if I act cute, then they've got to like me~"

"You're still an Islander, Feli," Yao pointed out.

"But they haven't even sneered at us yet!" Yao paused, realizing Feliciano was right.

"Hey, you right-aru..." Yao turned to Gilbert and Ludwig. "Why are you not sneering and treating us like dirt-aru?" The two Mainlanders seemed startled.

"Vhat? I've never treated anyone like dirt," Ludwig answered. "You're human as vell, vhy vould I do zat? I can't say ze same for mein bruder, of course..."

Gilbert rolled his eyes. "Zis is stupid. I'm going back to ze hotel. Have fun vith your little Islander friends, Ludwig," he sneered, though it was directed at his brother and not the Islanders. Then he walked off.

Ludwig shook his head silently and looked at Yao and Feliciano. "I'm sorry about him. He usually isn't like zis..."

His voice trailed off as Gilbert got further and further away. When he reached the bridge, he noticed something and looked down. Climbing up the cliffside was Matthew. The albino paused and just stood there, watching the boy expertly climb up.

"Oh!" Matthew seemed a bit startled when he came... sorta face-to-face with the taller Mainlander. "I was wanting to talk to you but I thought you'd still be over there..."

"Vhat ze hell?" Gilbert blinked and looked over the edge again. "Vhere are ze ozer two?"

"Still in the water," Matthew answered. "I just- I want... I want to know why you hate us." Gilbert blinked and looked at Matthew in surprise. "I want to know what makes Mainlanders hate Islanders. I've seen plenty of Mainlanders, like Elizaveta and Roderich. They sometimes help us when no other Mainlanders are here, they don't hate us. But visitors, and the soldiers- why do you all hate us?"

To be honest, Gilbert wasn't sure how to respond. After a few moments, he simply said, "Because you're Islanders."

"That's not an answer," Matthew stated, crossing his arms. "Islanders came from the Mainland anyway. What's so different about us that we're no better than the animals Lovino and Feliciano raise?" When Gilbert didn't answer, Matthew sighed. "That's what I thought. You're simply taught to think that way, eh?" He turned around. "Well, while you're sitting in your hotel room doing nothing, _I'm_ going to do something fun."

With that, Matthew dived back into the water, leaving Gilbert to dwell on his words.

**-To Be Continued-**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**: Yep yep, here I am updating this. Like "The Search", I hope to update again sometime between now and Friday... No promises, though, school can be a beast.

**Dora-nichov Russian Werewolf**: Indeed. Slowly but surely... and indeed it shall never end~

**Zoewinter1**: Thank you, I'm glad you think so! I'm glad~

**Blue Moon**: Yay for Matthew backstory~ I love it when Matthew gets a backbone. Thank you! And no, I don't think that's possible... I'm sure Prussia would say it's impossible, hehheh~

This chapter really marks Gilbert's changing viewpoints...

Onwards, noble steed!

SS Out~

* * *

><p>Gilbert had found a comfortable place in a tree to lounge. It was the tree closest to the small cliff-side he stood at the first day, and from there he watched three Islanders swim around in the water- and disappear completely from sight- until the sun began setting.<p>

When the trio reached the top, the albino could clearly hear Lovino screech at his brother about _listening for fucking once_. But the screeching soon ended.

The Mainlander turned his attention to the golden sunset. He couldn't really see it from where he sat in the tree, so he climbed further up to the top. It wasn't a great view like his window, but it was a view.

Distracted by the golden sunset, Gilbert failed to notice a blonde head of hair pop up from the water nearby. Matthew watched Gilbert, confused, before looking towards the west. "Oh right," he mumbled to himself. "Mainlanders don't see that every day."

Somehow, the quiet mumbles reached Gilbert's ears, and his attention snapped to Matthew. "Vhat are you doing here?" he demanded.

Matthew looked surprised that Gilbert noticed him. "You were just sitting in the tree, staring off into space, I wanted to know what you were looking at..." There was a slight hesitation. Gilbert watched the Islander waiting. "And I wanted to make a request."

"A request?" Gilbert frowned. "Who's to say I vill listen?"

"I just want to show you something," Matthew sighed. "Just... I don't want you hating us simply because we're born in a different place than you. It doesn't matter if the sun is up or down, the way to get there is pitch black anyway."

"Zen how ze hell are ve supposed to get zere?" Gilbert shot back. Matthew rolled his eyes.

"I have a waterproof flashlight," he answered simply. Gilbert blinked for a few moments.

"Flashlight? But flashlights work on electricity and batteries and somezing like zat."

"You know, just because we don't have as much access as Mainlanders do, doesn't mean we don't have it," Matthew stated with another sigh. "Are you coming or not? I have better things to do than float here arguing with you."

"Vhy... are you even talking to me?" Gilbert suddenly asked. "You don't seem like ze kind of person who just... talks to everyone like zat Feliciano kid."

"Yes, well, Feliciano is excitable and would talk to a rock if you put googly eyes on it, but that's just his personality. You just seem... different somehow," Matthew replied, studying Gilbert. "And I don't mean just because you're albino. You've spoken down to us, yea, but... you've never struck out at us physically like some other Mainlanders do. And you seem to regard us as human... and you didn't seem happy when you noticed the soldiers."

"So you zink I'm different from ozer Mainlanders because I don't abuse you?" Gilbert asked slowly.

"Well... simply put, yes. Every other Mainlander who we've _literally_ run into has thrown a kick or a punch at us..." Matthew trailed off, glancing aside. "But that isn't the point. You seem so... bored here. I just want to show you there are fun things to do on the Island."

"I don't really consider svimming as "fun", Matzew," Gilbert stated flatly. Matthew looked at him with a funny expression. "Vhaat?"

"Well, one, swimming _is_ fun, and two, my name sounds funny when you say it. Oh, and three, you called me by name. I didn't even know you remembered it," he answered. Gilbert blinked.

"Vhat, should I call you "Mattie" or somezing since my accent seems to be too awesome for you?" Gilbert smirked. For the moment, he seemed to completely forget that he was talking to an Islander.

"I'd call it a lot of things, but "awesome" wouldn't be one of them," Matthew commented with a small smile.

"Nein, everyzing about me is awesome, Birdie," the albino stated with a grin. He burst out laughing at Matthew's confused expression.

"Birdie?" Matthew questioned, looking oh so adorably confused.

"Ja. You seem to like jumping off zat cliff over zere, so I will call you Birdie!"

"Well... okay... I guess..." Matthew trailed off, seeming to accept his new nickname without any more questions. "So, will you come?"

Before Gilbert could reply, a voice called, "Gilbert! It's time to come inside now, supper vill be served shortly." The albino made a face.

"Sorry, Birdie, _mein Vater_ calls," he said while shaking his head. He jumped down from the tree. "Ask me again tomorrow vhen it _isn't_ so close to being supper time. Guten Nacht, Birdie~" he called in a teasing way, heading towards the hotel.

It didn't occur to Gilbert that he had spoken to an Islander in not just a civil manner, but a friendly one as well.

**-Later The Next Day-**

Matthew stretched, his back popping gloriously. He sighed and looked over at Feliciano and Lovino, who seemed to be arguing over who would do what that afternoon. The Canadian-sounding Islander chuckled and simply watched as the elder brother succumbed to Feliciano's puppy-dog eyes.

The work was almost completely over and soon Matthew could go home. He really hoped that Gilbert would accept his offer to show him how the Island could be fun. It wasn't that the blonde was actually _attracted_ to the Islander... well, okay, he was maybe a _little_ attracted to him, but not enough to throw himself at him.

If he was honest, Matthew just wanted to get to know Gilbert. First, though... he had to get rid of that nasty discrimination problem the man had.

"-thew!"

Matthew's mind turned to his new nickname, "Birdie". He still hadn't made sense of it.

"Matthew!"

After all, jumping off a cliff wasn't characteristic of birds, and birds didn't swim, fishes did. Then again, "Birdie" sounded a whole lot better than "Fishie"...

"Matthew! Earth to mother fucking Matthew, are you in there?!"

Matthew jumped and looked at Lovino, who looked royally ticked off at being ignored. "Sorry, Lovino, I was lost in thought," he said.

"I could see that, I've only called your name five billion times!"

"Calm down, Lovino, I wasn't ignoring you..."

"Whatever, I was just trying to tell you that you can go home early, I can take care of the rest," Lovino huffed.

"Oh, right. Okay," Matthew nodded, glancing at the rest of the work. It wasn't really much, it would only take at most another half hour, but when Lovino says you can go home, you go home before he changes his mind.

Lovino held his hand out for the hoe that Matthew was holding, and Matthew was quick to hand it over. "Don't be late tomorrow or I will be fucking pissed," Lovino warned, turning away to get to work.

"Of course," Matthew chuckled, hurrying away.

As he walked across the bridge, being careful not to trip over a rail, he thought about the albino again.

It was true, what he said. The Mainlander was different from most other Mainlanders. Some Mainlanders tried to take advantage of their lower status and inability to fight back; they would try and force someone of their fancy to bed, or they would simply vent their anger by hitting them... or even killing them.

The injustice of everything the Mainlanders could get away with weighed heavily on Matthew. All the murders, the rapes, the beatings... nothing was ever seen as the Mainlanders' fault. Always the Islanders'.

Yet Gilbert hadn't kicked him when they bumped into each other. He hadn't even spat at him or grabbed him roughly by the hair as others had done. He had thrown insults, sure, but other than his glare, he did nothing intimidating. He had just wanted to move on, as though it hadn't happened, but he had followed them when he noticed the soldier preparing his gun. He had wanted to know why the soldier was there... he didn't seem happy about it.

Matthew wanted to know why.

* * *

><p>Before Matthew even knew it, he was back at the village. He glanced around and noticed most doors were closed. Probably weary mothers and young children resting on the inside.<p>

Some doors were still open, smoke drifting lazily out as usual. Women whose children were old enough to work through the afternoon heat... or women whose sons were deemed strong enough and taken to the mines.

Suddenly, Matthew frowned as he walked through the sad little village. He enjoyed life as an Islander, despite the discrimination, but he so rarely saw the man he called "father". Most grown men, or even young boys with large muscles like Arthur's older brothers, were taken to work in the mines. Arthur's father was among the grown men taken, and Matthew and Arthur only saw him every other month for all of one day.

Arthur, the poor boy, had lost his entire family, minus his younger brother who just happened to hate him and blame him. His mother had died when he and Matthew were still young, and when Arthur was about fourteen- Matthew about twelve- some soldiers came through to inspect every boy and man over the age thirteen.

Arthur was the only Kirkland deemed unacceptable for the mines.

The two had stood together while James, Connor, and Alistair were pushed into a group of strong men (Later on Matthew would identify one as Romero Vargas, Lovino's grandfather). No one could do anything to stop the soldiers, and Arthur had cried for the first time since his mother's death. At age fourteen, Arthur became responsible for both Matthew and Peter.

Thankfully, the entire village was like a family. Everyone helped one another without any questions asked. In the five years since their families had been torn apart, the village had only grown tighter together. They had become more like a family.. They were becoming more protective of each other... They started striking back...

But then the soldiers had come to stay. Then no one could help because then they would die. No one-

Suddenly Matthew felt someone run into him, and both he and the other went tumbling down the hill.

"Ow ow ow ow ow..." he groaned slightly, having hit a couple of rocks on the way down the hill. He opened his eyes and came face to face with ruby-red eyes. Immediately the Islander recognized it as Gilbert, who seemed to have pinned him to the ground... hopefully by accident. "Oh! Sorry!"

Gilbert blinked in surprise. He'd just been running from his brother, who he had been incessantly teasing since they woke up that morning, when he had suddenly hit Matthew, who had come around the corner of a building. And now he had the boy pinned at the bottom of the hill...

Quickly assessing the situation, he stood up. "Ah, _es tut mir leid_, Birdie," he apologized sheepishly, holding out a hand to help Matthew up. Matthew gave him a quizzical expression. "Vhaaat? I can be nice, you know."

Studying Gilbert for a few seconds, Matthew finally- cautiously- accepted the offered hand and Gilbert pulled him to his feet. "Um, thanks... and, uh, sorry about not watching where I was going," Matthew mumbled, having quickly pulled his hand away from Gilbert's. No need to make this moment even more awkward.

Gilbert was about to say something, but then another body crashed into his from behind and once again he and Matthew were sent to the ground in a heap.

"Vhy can't you learn to just shut up!" Ludwig shouted angrily, then spotted Matthew pinned below Gilbert, who he himself had been pinning. "Oh, hallo Matzew, sorry about zat." He got up and dragged Gilbert to his feet. "Vas Gilbert bozering you again?"

"Uh, no...?" Matthew sat up. "Actually he was being surprisingly kind, he even apologized... I think. I don't know German."

"Luddy," Gilbert whined, "I told you I'd stop teasing you! _Bitte lassen Sie mich gehen_!" Ludwig studied Gilbert as Matthew stood up, dusting himself off. Gilbert scowled at Ludwig. "Come on, I said please!"

After a few seconds pondering, Ludwig let go of Gilbert's shirt. He turned to Matthew. "I do apologize for zat."

"It's okay, it's not like I'm dead," Matthew replied, stepping slightly away from the Mainlander duo. He'd like to avoid getting pinned for a third time, thank you very much. "Besides, you didn't see me. It's not your fault."

Ludwig frowned slightly. "Matzew, no offense, but you are too nice." Matthew shrugged slightly, not seeming to take offense at all.

"Heeeey, shouldn't you still be vith ze mean guy und his scatterbrained Bruder?" Gilbert suddenly asked, looking at Matthew. Once again, Matthew shrugged.

"Lovino said I could go home early and that he'd take the rest," He answered simply. "I was going to go swimming before taking a rest, you know, to cool off."

"Ohh, I see," Gilbert nodded in understanding.

Then he seemed to remember Matthew was an Islander.

Then he realized he didn't care if _Matthew_ was an Islander. Matthew was pretty damn awesome, after all. Islander or not.

The other Islanders, on the other hand... meh. They weren't nearly as awesome as his new Islander friend. Of course, he wouldn't mention in his letters to Antonio and Francis that he had _befriended_ an Islander, but... he really liked to think of Matthew as his friend.

_Mein Gott, I've only known him for two days and I want to call him my friend?!_

* * *

><p>Later, after Ludwig had returned to the hotel with a last warning ("Gilbert, if you cause any trouble, I vill strangle you!"), Matthew and Gilbert just sat in the grass talking.<p>

"Birdie, does it _ever_ rain here?" Gilbert suddenly asked, staring at the sky. There were some clouds on the horizon, but they were moving slowly and in the wrong direction.

"Well of course," Matthew answered with a slight laugh. "Where do you think we get our fresh water from? The _Mainland_?"

Gilbert looked at Matthew, a little confused. Matthew had said that as thought it was a ridiculous thought... but that's exactly what Gilbert _had_ thought. The Islander apparently noticed his confused expression. He turned to look at the albino, brows slightly furrowed.

"You... did think that, didn't you?"

"Um, Birdie, quick question. Do you get _anyzing_ from ze Mainland?" Gilbert asked slowly, though he had a feeling he already knew the answer.

"Sure we do. It's just not for our benefit," Matthew answered simply. Gilbert's expression didn't change, so he went on to elaborate. "The soldiers come from the Mainland to watch us and make sure we don't harm any Mainlander visitors. The tools we get from the Mainland are for the miners and farmers so that we can get materials, minerals, and food for the Mainland. The railway systems between the Island and Mainland and between the main Island and the farm Island are generally only for Mainlanders... and transporting food."

"Zat can't be right, I've seen zem loading up food and stuff on ze train from ze Mainland to ze Islands," Gilbert protested, not wanting to believe that the Mainlanders mistreated the Islanders _that_ much.

"Oh, those are for the Mainlander hotels," Matthew answered simply. "Watch them closely one day and you'll see it all goes to the hotel. Elizaveta and Roderich will give as much as they can before someone notices, but they seem to be a special breed of Mainlander..."

Gilbert frowned. "I don't zink I'll believe zat unless I see it," he finally decided, turning to look at the village. It really was a sad little village, with its scattered homes and open doors.

"Moving on!" Matthew suddenly interrupted Gilbert's thoughts. "Have you decided whether or not you'll accept my offer?"

The Mainlander glanced at Matthew, thinking for a few moments. "Umm... not yet. I have ozer stuff to do before I can say you are as reliable as you make yourself to be," he elaborated, looking back at the village. He heard Matthew sigh beside him, but the Islander didn't argue.

It briefly occurred to Gilbert that Matthew was one-hundred percent Islander, yet there they sat, speaking together as though they were both the same kind of people.

_Maybe we are._

* * *

><p><em>Franny und Toni!<em>

_Wie gehts? Ich schreibe diesen Brief in deutsch!_

_Nah, just kidding, I won't write this whole letter in German! I actually want you two to understand, ha! _

_I don't really have much to say, really, just that I'm kind of bored... Last night Matthew- the Islander I ran into first day- offered to show me how Islanders have fun without cell phones and game consoles. I haven't really accepted or declined yet, but I think I might say sure! I mean, I am incredibly bored... I know I said kind of but I am very bored._

_Matthew has... interesting friends. More Mainland-sounding Islanders, can you believe it?! These two new ones are brothers, they sound like they're from Italien. They're complete opposites; the younger one acts like an even more talkative version of Toni and the older one is a mean, vicious thing. It hates me simply because I'm a Mainlander! Can you believe that?! And he kept telling Italian-Toni to stay away from mein Bruder. I wonder why? Well, of course, we're Mainlanders._

_Can you believe someone could have a reason that stupid to hate someone?_

_Then again, the Mainlanders do treat them pretty badly..._

_Actually, that sentence reminds me of what Matthew asked me yesterday evening. He asked me why I hated Islanders. And the only thing I could think of is that they're Islanders... I really don't know why, I just do, but he refuses to accept that as an answer. Damn, I feel like a hypocrite now... Huh. Weird. I'll just ignore it._

_Toni, Franny, why __**do**__ we hate Islanders?_

_I'm thinking too much, and I've only been here, what, two, three days? Ugh, I don't even know anymore! I think I've seen... two sunsets? Yea, two sunsets. Tonight's will be the third. So today is... Wednesday? Damn, this week is taking forever!_

_Ah, whatever. Give hell to everyone there for me, guys!_

_Staying awesome, Gilbert!_

**-To Be Continued-**

___Mein Vater - My father___

___Es tut mir leid_ - I'm sorry  
><em>_

__Bitte lassen Sie mich gehen_ - Please let me go  
><em>

_Mein Gott - My God_

_Wie gehts? Ich schreibe diesen Brief in deutsch!_ - How are you? I'm writing this letter in German!


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N**: Due to snow, I am home! I live in the south, one little flake of snow gets school canceled here, yo.

**roxasinumiku**: Thank you, I'm glad you think so~!

**zoewinter1**: Just the fact you love it at all is good enough for me~

**Ramengrl**: Really? Huh, I coulda sworn "mein Vater" was also acceptable... ah well, I can confirm your statement tomorrow! My German teacher will know, she speaks it natively(she's a first-gen American). Thanks for the correction~! And thank you for liking my story! I was actually thinking that, I like the idea but I haven't quite decided on it yet... (_**Spoiler alert**_, later on there won't be a need for the letters... Hey, I did say in the first chapter there'd be Spamano, did I not? Heh)

**Maple Pegasus**: First of all, that is an epic name of epic proportions. Second of all, I know that feeling! I find stories just to lose track of them because, like the silly thing I am, I don't put stuff on my alert or favourites. Hooray for amazing PruCan fics! Now if someone will direct me to an amazing PruCan fic... Haha, thank you, Maple!

**QuirkyRevelations**: I did! And I've updated again, hurrah! I'm glad you're enjoying this story! There's three or four different ways this can go, but don't worry, I'll avoid the darker paths~ I'm trying my best not to rush into the romance, so I'll try!

After writing this chapter I'm going to write a non-AU kinda-angsty tragedy one-shot (maybe a one-shot series so I can give it a happy ending) that has been stuck in my head for the past few days. So yea.

SS Out~

* * *

><p>"Gilbert brings up a good point, mi amigo..." Antonio started, looking at the letter. "Remind me again why we hate Islanders?"<p>

Francis frowned in thought. "Well, zey are smelly and don't know 'ow to 'ave fun and... well... Actually I don't know either," he finally said, looking at Antonio. The Spanish Mainlander frowned in thought and looked at the letter in his hands again.

If he was honest with himself, Antonio had to admit he never really, truly hated Islanders. He just thought they were... different. The way Gilbert wrote about them, though... they sounded just as human as he was. Ah well, Islanders were Islanders and Mainlanders were Mainlanders.

"Well... I really don't know what to tell him," Antonio finally said, setting the letter down on his night table.

* * *

><p>Gilbert stretched as he sat at the table with his brother. Their father was already out, probably by the mines, as the brothers ate breakfast.<p>

The elder Mainlander had woken up at an ungodly hour; before sunrise. He hadn't been able to get back to sleep, so he decided to go outside and watch the sun rise, wondering if it was as amazing as the sunset.

It was.

That day he decided to eat breakfast, so when Ludwig woke up the two headed to the hotel cafeteria together, where they ate a nice breakfast consisting of eggs, bread and jam, sausage and various fruit. There were choices from many Mainland sections, including scrambled eggs, bacon, and something called grits, but Gilbert felt safer sticking to his traditional German breakfast. Plus he honestly wasn't too hungry.

Then, once again, Gilbert headed to the village, wanting to see his new friend Birdie.

When he arrived in the village, a glance around told him not many people were outside, though the doors were wide open. He spotted Arthur and walked over to him.

"Hey, Briton," he teasingly called, grabbing the Islander's attention immediately. "Vhere's Birdie?"

"Birdie?" Arthur repeated, not sounding impressed. "If you mean Matthew, he's working right now. You know this by now, you incompetent git."

"Well, ja, I know zat, but vhere is he?" Gilbert repeated, then clarified with, "vhere does he vork?"

"Um... on Lovino's farm," Arthur answered slowly, observing the Mainlander. "Why?"

"Just wanting to know," Gilbert answered with a shrug. "Zat's vhere zat rail bridge leads, ja?" he ventured further, pointing over to the little wooden station.

"Yes... why?" Arthur tried again, becoming suspicious. "Are you going to walk out there? Because, you know, if you fall into the water from the middle of the bridge, there's no way anyone would get to you in time, before something like a shark or the current got you."

"Ja, like ze awesome me vould fall," Gilbert laughed, heading to the farm train station.

"We can all dream," he heard Arthur mutter as he got back to work. Gilbert slipped into the station and looked around, noticing no one was inside guarding or anything. He shrugged slightly; it was just easier for him this way.

He studied the rail bridge for several moments, eyes calculating. The proud Mainlander would never admit he was a bit afraid... but honestly, he wanted to see what the farm looked like.

After standing there pondering for a few minutes, he summoned up his courage and started walking out on the bridge. He refused to let himself turn around, pushing himself onwards. The further from the Island he got, the more excited he got. He was walking not only on a train track, something his father had told him countless times to never do, but he was walking on a _train track bridge_.

Ten minutes later, though, the excitement had worn off and he was tired of having to watch his feet. He kept walking, though; he could see he was closer to the farm than the main Island by then.

The moment his feet hit solid ground, all of the unease he had unknowingly had disappeared. He grinned victoriously and strutted out of the loading station and out into the bright sunlight...

And stopped. And he stared.

The farm Island wasn't exactly pathetic; there was a large enclosure of farm animals, a shelter for them in the back, feeding and watering troughs and such, plus an orchard on the other side. There was also a healthy, thriving farm that a lot of care and consideration went into. No, it wasn't the plants or animals that got his attention.

It was the humans' resources.

The house was hardly more than a small shack, probably with only one room, maybe two at the most. It seemed to be falling apart and the roof severely needed to be fixed, and, well... actually, a new house needed to be built. On the other side there were two sheds, one slightly larger than the other. He assumed one was for tools while the other was for storage- God knows they didn't have enough space in the little shack of a house to store anything.

In all, the scene made him kind of... sad. No one on the Mainland- hell, even on the main Island- lived in anything that looked like that.

"Hey! What the fuck are you doing here?!" an enraged voice shouted, catching his attention. He looked over towards the field, where three boys- two auburn-brunette-ish haired and one blonde-haired- were walking over. The three held buckets, of what Gilbert wasn't sure.

The albino noted it was the darker Italian-sounding boy who spoke to him. The mean one. He glanced at the house and the sheds. He could now understand why Lovino had such a nasty attitude.

"Ve~ Hi Gilbert!" Feliciano chirped.

Gilbert could not, however, understand why that one was so damn happy. Didn't he realize he and his brother were living in something that resembled a shed more than a house?

"Hallo," he greeted, glancing over at Matthew, who looked genuinely surprised to see him. "So zis is ze farm, ja?" he asked, if only to break the falling silence.

"_Ja_," Lovino mocked, setting his buckets down and opening the gate. He let his brother and Matthew out first then followed, Matthew closing the gate after him. "You're right in time to go the fuck away."

The Mainlander ignored the irate little Islander farm-boy and instead chose to observe what was in their buckets. In all three buckets were dark red berries. "Vhat are zose?" he asked curiously.

"The fuck do they look like? They were berries growing in my fucking field," Lovino hissed, stalking over to the shack-house.

"They're poisonous berries, Gilbert," Matthew explained. "If the animals ate them, they'd die. It seems no matter how much Lovino pulls the bushes up, another one grows in its place every year."

"Huh... zat's unfortunate," he commented, watching Feli skip over to Lovino to dispose of the poison berries. Matthew went to do the same. He followed. "So vhat do you three do on zis farm?"

"Fuck off, Mainlander," Lovino growled while walking away to the orchard, leaving Feliciano and Matthew standing with Gilbert.

"Veeee, we feed the animals! And we tend the crops! And we go check the orchard and make sure nothing bad happens to the trees and pick fruit!" Feliciano answered, skipping over to Lovino.

After the twins were out of earshot, Gilbert turned to Matthew. "Okay, I understand him being mean, but vhat is vith Feliciano zat makes him so happy?" Matthew shrugged.

"They deal with their situation in different ways," Matthew answered simply.

"Vhy hasn't zeir _vater_ replaced ze house... shack... zing?"

"Their father isn't around," Matthew answered quietly this time. "Both he and their mother died. Their grandfather raised them, but he works in the mines now."

"Vell... vhy hasn't anyone else?" Gilbert asked, trying to figure out why the twins were forced to live in such sad conditions.

"The only people strong enough in our village are Mainlanders," Matthew answered, shaking his head slightly. "Everyone else is either too weak, too young, or too busy. There's a lot of work to do, and building a house, especially on the Islands, takes time and skill."

It was then that something occurred to Gilbert. He had noticed it when he first walked through the village, but he hadn't been able to place a finger on it. Hell, he hadn't even _noticed_ that he had noticed it...

The doors were always open with women- mothers- cooking or cleaning or preparing something or gardening. Younger, unmarried girls ran around the village, as did young boys, delivering things to these mothers. The only teenagers he's paid any attention to- Matthew, Arthur, Yao, and the twins- were all very, for lack of a better word, feminine looking. Even Elizaveta looked stronger than them. Gilbert finally realized what was wrong with the village, the thing he hadn't realized he'd noticed until right then...

Where were all the fathers?

"-ert? Are you okay?" Gilbert blinked out of his thoughts and looked at Matthew. Matthew's brows were furrowed slightly, showing his worry.

"Birdie, I have one more question," he said, not answering Matthew's own question. Matthew raised an eyebrow in an "I'm listening" way. "I see mothers, girls, und children, und frail looking teenagers everyvhere in ze village. Vhere are all of your _Väter_?"

Matthew was silent for several moments. "The mines," he finally answered, very simply, before he started walking in the direction Lovino and Feliciano were. "Five years ago every strong boy and man thirteen or older was taken to work in the mines. Please don't ask again."

* * *

><p>Matthew's words had been on Gilbert's mind all day. Finally Lovino had successfully chased Gilbert off the farm Island- he looked like he was about to push the Mainlander into the ocean!- just before lunch, and Gilbert was spending time with his brother.<p>

He didn't understand just why anyone would take childrens' fathers like that, or wives' husbands and mothers' sons. Thirteen? Much too young to be risking your life in a mineshaft.

Without even realizing it, Gilbert had relayed everything he had seen and learned to Ludwig, and Ludwig looked disturbed by this knowledge. "Zey could catch zeir death like zat," Ludwig told Gilbert, clearly worrying.

"_Ich kenne_, Ludwig. But zere is really nozing ve can do," Gilbert replied, taking a drink of lemonade. All Gilbert meant was that they really couldn't do anything, but Ludwig misunderstood it as saying he didn't care.

"Look, Gilbert, I know to you zey are just Islanders but to me zey are human lives und zey need help," he said sternly, staring his brother in the eye. Gilbert was a bit surprised.

"Ludwig! I vasn't saying I didn't care," he whined. "I just really don't zink ve can do anyzing about it."

"Zere is alvays somezing ve can do," Ludwig shot back, not even apologizing for misunderstanding.

"Like vhat, _ve_ build zem a new house?"

"Yes. Exactly like zat."

Gilbert paused. It had actually crossed his mind, but... "Ze mean feisty one vould fight you tooth und nail about it," he pointed out.

"I know. Zat's vhy I vill ask Feliciano about it instead. Und you can try und talk Matzew into talking Lovino around to it."

"How vill ve get ze vood...?" Gilbert asked. He knew it sounded as though he were looking for every excuse not to help the Islander farmers, but that was a legitimate concern.

"I can buy it, unlike you I actually saved all my money Vati gave us for chores," Ludwig stated, smirking a little. "I don't care vhat you say, Gilbert, I vill help zem. I'll build it vith my own bare hands if I have to."

"You're just saying zat because you have ze hots for ze little ditzy one," Gilbert huffed, but immediately started running away when Ludwig made a move to strangle him. "Ha! Can't catch me!"

"Get back here!"

* * *

><p>Matthew sighed when he got back to the village. Ludwig was attempting to strangle Gilbert, and from what Arthur said, it was the seventh time since lunch five hours before. The younger brother had the elder in a headlock on the ground.<p>

The blonde walked over to the two Mainlanders and knelt down so he was level with them. "Am I interrupting something?" he asked softly, but it still caught both of the Mainlanders' attention.

"Oh, hallo Birdie," Gilbert choked out as Ludwig released him.

"Hallo, Matzew," Ludwig greeted, standing up. Matthew also stood up and offered a helping hand to Gilbert, which the recovering Mainlander gratefully took. "Gilbert told me about his visit to ze farm. I can honestly say I did not approve it."

"Lovino didn't either," Matthew laughed slightly, watching Gilbert rub his throat. "He nearly tackled Gilbert into the water by the time lunch came around."

"Oh? Gilbert said he chose to come back himself."

"No, Lovino chased him all the way to the bridge with a shovel, yelling in whatever language he and Feliciano can speak."

"Italian," Gilbert cut in. "He vas shouting in Italian. Vhich, may I add, is a Mainlander language." Matthew shrugged.

"All Islanders have Mainland roots somewhere," Matthew said. "Some more recent than others. Of course a family that lives separate from everyone else would retain their Mainland accents more so than those of us who mix together."

"Artie has a strong accent," Gilbert pointed out.

"Arthur's parents also happen to have been Mainlanders," Matthew shot back. "They chose to stay here after Alistair- Arthur's oldest brother- was born... considering they'd be forced to leave Alistair here if they left."

"Zen vhy isn't Artie's Vati here?" Gilbert asked quizzically; he knew the soldiers wouldn't actually take a _Mainlander_ to the mines.

"After a few years, their status was legally changed to Islanders," Matthew answered quietly. "Apparently if a Mainlander stays here for a certain number of years, they're considered Islanders. It's an... unfair system, but we're used to it."

"How long have Elizaveta und her husband been here?" Gilbert questioned.

"A few years, but they manage the Mainlander hotel," Matthew explained. "They're immune to that law."

"Ah..." The three fell into a rather uncomfortable silence. Then it was broken by a familiar British accent.

"Matthew, mate," Arthur called, appearing beside Matthew. "I have to go do some fishing out by the- why is that freak staring at me with that grin?" he cut off, watching Gilbert.

"Briton!" Gilbert exclaimed and laughed as Arthur raged, shouted that he was _not_ a Briton, and stomped off. "He denies it but now I know it's true! By my standards he's a Briton! Even if he _is_ an Islander, but still, his parents were Britons... Und I know it~!"

"Arthur doesn't know." Gilbert blinked, his laughter trailing off. His expression displayed his thoughts clearly; what? "As far as Arthur knows, his parents were born here just like him and all his brothers."

"Vhy do you know zat und he doesn't?" Ludwig questioned.

"They told me because they were friends with my parents. They raised me, and Arthur's father told me stories about my parents," Matthew told them, smiling slightly. "I was born here, too, but they couldn't stay. They had another son on the Mainland, so my birth mother left me with Arthur's parents."

"Vhy did zey never come back after getting your brother?" Gilbert demanded, eyes flashing slightly. To him it sounded more like abandonment.

It didn't help that Matthew simply shrugged. "I don't know. My father- well, Arthur's father never told me why they didn't. I'm not sure they were able to. Or maybe they didn't want to subject my brother to this life." The three fell silent for several moments.

"Vhat about Feliciano und Lovino?" Ludwig finally asked. "Do you know anyzing about zem?"

"No, I didn't know they existed until five years ago, when their grandfather was taken away," Matthew answered. "And frankly, they don't know either."

"Zat's just cruel, not telling people vhere zey come from," Gilbert complained. "I vant to know."

"But you can already tell by the accents," Matthew pointed out.

"True..." the albino sighed. "Okay, let's get away from sad backstories! Birdie, I have decided to accept your offer and if it bores me I vill make it verbally noticeable!"

Matthew smiled slightly while Ludwig looked confused. "Good. I have a few things to take care of first, but I should be done before a half hour's up."

* * *

><p><em>Hey Franny, Toni!<em>

_I don't have much time to write this. I mean I could just write it before going to bed, but I might be too tired. I decided to accept Birdie's offer to show me around having fun on the Island!_

_Oh yea, do you like Matthew's new nickname? Ja, he's Birdie. He had a funny expression when I said his name, my accent messed up the "th" in his name, it was funny!But I gave him the nickname Birdie since my accent won't mess that up and make me laugh!  
><em>

_Before I forget, some of these people's stories are fucking sad. Both Birdie and Arthur could have been Mainlanders, and something tells me everyone in this place could have been in some way. Apparently Arthur's parents decided to stay after a son was born on the Island and never even told the guy! And Birdie's parents had a son on the Mainland and just abandoned Birdie here. And the farmers- Birdie's mean friend and the Italian-Toni- know hardly anything about their own family history, though they know at least their grandfather is Islander._

_And the house the farmers live in is more like a shack. Ludwig is plotting ways right now to build them a new house on his own since no one else can. I'd help but I'm hanging with Birdie! In fact I gotta go meet him now, so I'll cut this letter short. I hope whatever Birdie is showing me __**is**__ actually fun! I'll report back tomorrow, with a detailed letter about everything I've learned! Haha!_

_Stay awesome, mein Freunde, and I will too! Gilbert!_

**-To Be Continued-**

Woohoo for backstories! And I explained some backstories because _**they are important **_to the characters' changes in opinion. Minus Ludwig's, of course, but he was of the correct mind from the beginning.

I'm gonna go ahead and tell y'all that both Yao and the Vargas twins are SEVERAL generations from being Mainlander, only Arthur and Matthew are could-have-beens. And that's simply for a future plot device. Trust me~

Ya know what, I think y'all can guess what the German words mean...


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N**: Hello, everyone. Um, long time no see! ...

Okay I am sooooo so so very sorry about this two-year hiatus but shit got real and I had things to do and just, well, yeah. I'm so sorry.

I cannot promise that this will be updated regularly, and "The Search" probably won't be updated for a while now. It's been so long that I have sort of forgotten the direction these stories were going to take, but I'm determined to make it work. I reread my stories and realized I wanted to continue them at any cost, but I find "Two Weeks is all it Takes" more intriguing than "The Search" right now, so I'm going to focus on this one instead. Admittedly that could be because I'm in a PruCan mood but hey!

I hope my writing has improved since two years ago...

* * *

><p>Gilbert dropped the letter into the mail box before rushing out to meet Matthew, who was waiting beside the cliff. He crossed the thin, frightening bridge without any hesitation, having already grown used to it, and headed towards the Islander. With a glance at the cliff, he scoffed.<p>

"I am _not_ jumping off of ze cliff," he stated, crossing his arms. "I do not have a death vish."

Matthew rolled his eyes. "The cliff isn't all that high and there are no rocks at the bottom, it's perfectly safe. Unless you land wrong."

"I am _not_ jumping off of ze cliff," Gilbert replied. Matthew shrugged slightly.

"Scaredy-cat. Alright then, you can go through a beach and swim all the way to the canal, what I need to show you is down there though," Matthew told him before turning around and, without any hesitance, leaped off of the cliff and into the water.

Gilbert huffed and glared at where the Islander had landed, the water still rippling, and was still glaring when the blonde resurfaced. Matthew looked up and called, "Still just standing there?"

"I am not a scaredy-cat!" Gilbert called down with a childish pout. "Zat is Francis' job," he added under his breath.

"What was that? I couldn't hear under the sound of your fear!"

"Vhat?! Oh now you are getting it!" Gilbert declared before leaping off of the cliff, just as Matthew had.

It took him approximately half a second to realize what he had done. The feeling of being weightless came over him for a few short, fleeting moments, sending his heart racing and adrenaline shooting through his veins, and then he was falling down, the water rushing towards him. He let out a strangled yelp as his body cut through the air, and just barely he managed to get his eyes shut and plug his nose before he landed in the water.

He didn't flail while in the air and landed feet-first, and he felt the water swallow him with absolutely no resistance. Then he released his nose, blowing some air out to keep water from rushing in, and began swimming up to the surface again. When his head broke through the water, he wiped his soaked hair out of his eyes and opened them, looking up at the cliffside.

After a few seconds, he looked at Matthew. "_Mein Gott _zat vas fun! Let's do it again!" Matthew began laughing at that. "So, uh, how do ve get back up?"

"You don't know, eh?" Matthew smiled before pointing to the cliff's wall. "We climb."

Gilbert looked at the cliff wall with a slight frown. "How do you do zat?"

"Never been rock climbing?"

"I have," Gilbert quickly told him, "But, vell, not _real_ stone valls. You know, ze kind vith ze fake protruding stones..." The Mainlander trailed off when he saw Matthew's blank expression. "Vell, I suppose zat's a no?"

"Come on, I'll show you how to climb the wall," Matthew told him, swimming back over to the wall. "By the way, are you able to open your eyes under water?"

"Of course! Vell, maybe not ze ocean _Wasser_, I've never tried zat..."

"We'll assume that's a no then," Matthew laughed, reaching up and finding a hand hold. Gilbert observed him as he began climbing up the wall, making mental notes of where he put his hands and feet. "I can grab you some goggles."

"You have goggles?" Gilbert was legitimately surprised.

"Of course, sometimes I need them, though not for going under water," Matthew laughed, already halfway up the stone wall. He paused and looked over his shoulder. "You coming?"

"I vas vaiting for you to get to ze top," Gilbert grumbled, swimming to the wall. Quickly he located the protruding stones and carved-out sections that Matthew had used and started climbing up after Matthew. The Islander, unsurprisingly, got to the top before he was even halfway up. Now, though, Gilbert had no idea which spots Matthew had used and stared at the area just above him for a few moments.

"Birdie!" he called, looking up, and saw the blonde head poke over the side of the cliff. "I have no idea vhere to grab next."

Matthew looked like he was about to laugh, which should have irritated the Mainlander much more than it did. "Use your judgment, Gilbert," he called down. "Treat it like you would that rock climb wall you told me about."

"Ja, I vould if zere vas a harness!" he called back, but continued climbing, pausing every time he moved to analyze which handhold to grab next. Before he knew it, he found himself pulling himself back over the cliff's edge.

From around Matthew's legs, he caught sight of a single Mainland soldier watching them. He gave the soldier a grin and lifted one of his hands to give a cocky wave, not realizing he inadvertently removed one of his supports; his lower half was still dangling over the edge, and his arms were the only things keeping him up.

Matthew realized what was happening a moment before Gilbert did, as Gilbert's single arm braced to the left of himself- and not a good center of balance- gave way under the Mainlander's weight. Gilbert's eyes widened as he found himself falling in a way he _knew_ would injure him, as he would undoubtedly fall too close to the cliff wall and hit the water on either his stomach or back, and opened his mouth to cry out , but Matthew jerked into action faster than Gilbert thought was possible.

His right hand clinging desperately to the dusty clifftop with absolutely no real hold and his left hand clasped in smaller, surprisingly-soft hands, Gilbert found himself dangling from the cliff and mentally cursing the soldier.

"Vell zis is fun!" Gilbert ground out sarcastically, trying to find a foothold. A glance at Matthew's face told him that the Islander wouldn't be able to hold on for _too_ long; the fall had been too unexpected and Gilbert's hand was sweating pretty badly.

"No time for sarcasm...!" Matthew told him. "Arthur!" he called out, obviously hoping his friend- brother?- would come help.

"On ze ozer hand I zink it is ze perfect time for sarcasm," Gilbert bit back, still trying to feel around for a foothold. He knew he wouldn't find one, he was too frazzled.

Matthew chose to ignore Gilbert in favor of calling to his friend again, and Gilbert looked towards the soldier again. The soldier was watching with a blank expression, not even moving forwards to help. In fact, he had a hand on his gun.

_'Oh mein Gott,'_ Gilbert suddenly thought, his eyes widening. _'If I fall, he's going to shoot Birdie. He'll use my death as a fucking excuse to shoot Birdie. Mein Gott, I can't fall, mein Gott._"

"-bert, grab my hand! You Mainland wanker, grab my bloody hand!"

Gilbert was pulled out of his thoughts as he realized someone new was above him, one hand on the wrist of his left hand. It was Arthur, he quickly realized, who actually did look afraid. Gilbert had a feeling he had noticed the soldier as well and was more concerned about Matthew than he was about Gilbert.

On the other side of Matthew, someone else was reaching over to grab his right arm, probably to help Matthew hold him up. It was Yao, and somehow Gilbert wasn't surprised. It took him a moment to notice Islanders hurrying over to try and help in whatever way they could.

And all the while, the Mainland soldiers simply watched.

Gilbert bit his tongue before letting go of the cliffside to grab Arthur's hand, and Arthur quickly wrapped his other hand around the older man's arm. Gilbert barely noticed another Islander grab his arm in order to help, and together the four pulled him up. When he was over the cliffside more, Yao and the other person moved and wrapped their arms around his abdomen, enabling the Islanders to pull him all the way up onto the land.

The albino was all too happy to just fall on the ground where he was, and Matthew and Arthur both seemed to feel the same way. Gilbert just barely saw the would-be Briton's eyes flick over to the Mainland soldier, who finally removed his hand from his gun.

"Whot the bloody hell were you two doing?" Arthur hissed.

"I would like to know that too, aru!" Yao cut in, fidgeting with his hands and glancing nervously towards the soldiers.

"We were just cliff diving," Matthew told them. "I don't know why Gilbert lifted one of his hands."

"I vas going to give ze soldier behind you a sarcastic vave. I notice zey veren't doing anyzing to help me," Gilbert glared towards the soldiers, but the soldiers were no longer watching them. They had all moved along. "Fucking useless, ze lot of zem."

"Gilbert!" The not-German-I'm-Prussian looked over towards the bridge where Ludwig was running over to him. "Vhat ze hell vere you doing?!"

"It vas an accident!" Gilbert immediately defended himself before pausing. "Vell, kind of an accident. But everyzing is okay, zese guys saved me!"

It took Gilbert a moment to realize what he said. Matthew, Arthur, Yao, and a complete stranger had _saved him_. "Und ze Mainland soldiers simply vatched, vaiting for me to fall..." he said quietly, but Ludwig still heard it. "He vas going to-"

"-use your fall as an excuse to shoot someone, probably me, yeah," Matthew cut in with a nod. "We know. It wouldn't be the first time."

"Which is why I want to know why you wankers were so bloody stupid to do it!" Arthur whisper-yelled. "You know what could have happened, Matthew!"

"It vasn't his fault," Gilbert defended the lighter-haired man. "I'm ze one who tried to be cocky."

Ludwig raised a brow at him and Gilbert quickly realized he had just taken responsibility for his actions. He sent his brother a glare, one that read "say it, I fucking dare you." Ludwig said nothing. Right then, anyway.

"Still," Arthur sighed, his shoulders sagging, and Gilbert realized he hadn't been just worried or scared.

He had been _terrified._

Gilbert remembered what Matthew had told him about Arthur, how his family had been given Islander status and his father- and, presumably, more than one brother as Matthew had said _oldest_- had been taken to the mines. Arthur didn't have any sisters, Gilbert knew that from the lack of blonde females, and he didn't seem to have a mother either.

No, Gilbert suddenly realized, it didn't seem like Arthur had anyone. Anyone but Matthew. And maybe a small blonde brat that Gilbert often saw with the children, who had bushy brows. But that was all.

He thought about how he would feel if his entire family was gone, and all he had was Ludwig. Yes, he realized, he would be terrified at the thought of losing him. He would be scared to be all alone.

"Whot are you staring at, Mainlander?" Arthur demanded, and Gilbert realized he had been staring at Arthur.

"Nothing," Gilbert answered, shaking his head and pushing himself up. He glanced around, seeing most people had returned back to work. Not far away, he saw a basket had been dropped and fish scattered along the dirty ground.

Just that morning he would have felt disgusted at the sight. Right then, though, it only made him sad.

Matthew and fish. That was all the bushy-browed man had. Matthew and fish.

* * *

><p>That night, Gilbert stared up at the ceiling while laying on the bed. The alarm clock flashed "11:37" on the side table. His mind kept going over what has happened earlier that day, how the Islanders had quickly moved to his aid while the Mainlanders simply waited for him to fall. How the Islanders acted more human than the people who were supposed to protect Mainlanders.<p>

It was all really sad, to be honest. He sighed and sat up, glancing over at his blonde-haired blue-eyed brother, who was fast asleep. "How can you sleep?" Gilbert grumbled, climbing out of bed and pulling his night slippers on.

Whatever Matthew had originally wanted to show him was put off for another day, as neither of them wanted to jump back down just in case. And it wasn't just in case he fell again. It was those damn soldiers. Just watching them. Waiting for any excuse.

Gilbert found himself starting to understand the Islanders' perspective better. He was beginning to hate those soldiers. Was that how the Islanders thought all Mainlanders were? He sighed as he left the hotel room, carefully closing the door, and went towards the stairwell. He didn't want to wake anyone up by using the elevator, after all.

When he reached the ground floor, he noticed the lights were on and someone was sitting behind the counter, reading. It was a tall, pale man with glasses, reading what looked like a book about music. Gilbert wondered briefly if this was Eliveta's husband, then realized it must be; they ran the hotel, after all.

The man- Roderich, was it?- looked up when he heard Gilbert's steps and raised one impeccably-plucked brow. "You are up late," he observed. "Vhat can I do for you? Are ze pillows not up to par?"

"Nein nein," Gilbert shook his head, noting the accent. "I vas just vanting to write a letter. You are Roderich, ja?"

"Roderich Edelstein, ja," Roderich confirmed, setting his book down to grab some paper and pen for the hotel guest.

"Austrian?"

Roderich stilled for a moment before saying, "I am Austrian, ja. But before zat, I am human." He handed Gilbert the paper and pen, then returned to his book. Gilbert knew the conversation was over, but he couldn't help but add one more thing.

"I know. I am too." He turned and walked to a table, feeling the eyes on his back- undoubtedly the man was surprised. He probably didn't hear that often from guests, and it was probably all the more surprising coming from someone like Gilbert. Undoubtedly Elizaveta had already warned him what she overheard about Gilbert.

He didn't mind, though. After all, just that morning he would have scoffed and declared that he was Austrian, a Mainlander, and that was what mattered.

Just that morning he didn't realize just how _human_ the Islanders were.

He stared at the paper for several silent moments before he uncapped his pen and began to write, his hand slowly moving across the paper, lacking the energy it usually was full of.

* * *

><p><em>Francis and Antonio,<em>

_I almost died today. Birdie never showed me what he wanted to show me. I went cliff diving for the first time ever, and I climbed a real rock wall because I wanted to do it again. It was so much fun- so exhilarating! I felt free, and, well, it was awesome._

_A soldier was watching us and I got cocky. I almost fell, but Birdie caught me and his friends helped me up. The soldiers did nothing to help. They just watched. I saw one of them had a hand on their gun. Birdie looked so scared, and his friend Arthur was too. I didn't know what to do._

_Arthur dropped his fish in the dirt. He saw the gun too. If I fell they would have shot Birdie, guys. I was almost an excuse to murder someone. These people don't really have anything. Arthur's dad and brother- brothers, maybe- were taken away and he doesn't seem to have any mom or sisters. He almost lost everything he had left. Birdie and fish. And a little brat who doesn't seem to like him. That's all that he has._

_What do I do? I can't help but hate those soldiers. I like Birdie, he's cool. And all of the other Islanders tried to help as well. None of the Mainlanders even tried. It feels like every moment I'm here, I start seeing things from their perspective. I'm starting to hate those soldiers._

_Did you know they drink rainwater because they have no fresh water and the Mainland won't send them any? That the farmers here live in what is basically a shed and get to keep hardly anything that they grow or raise? That the only things the Mainland sends is to benefit the Mainland? That there's no passenger train between the farm island and the village island, so they walk on the train bridge? That soldiers come in and just take men away to the mines? That some people don't even know that they could have been Mainlanders? The situation here isn't very good. These people live in fear, and still they make the best of it. They love life here. They love the sea and the fresh air, they love doing work and simply living, they love swimming and climbing trees, they love their life here._

_I'm starting to think that we were the problem after all._

_It's midnight and I'm sitting in the hotel's lobby writing this because I can't get past this. The hotel owner hates me after talking less than a minute to me. I asked if he was Austrian, and he said that he is human first and foremost. He and his wife are advocates, I think. They try to help the Islanders as they can. I guess it's just not enough. I'm such an ass._

_Do you know what's unfair? Everything. But something else that's unfair is the fact that if I chose to stay here, there's a point at which I would never be allowed to leave. That I would legally become an Islander. Only the soldiers and hotel workers are exempt from this._

_I think I know why Birdie's parents never wrote to him. I think they did. The letters just never got to him. Islanders can't use the mail system, after all. _

_So ja, I almost died today and the only people who helped were the Islanders. Birdie was concerned for me, Arthur was concerned for Birdie, and everyone else... well, it was probably a mix. We didn't do any more cliff jumping. Birdie was afraid about the soldiers. _

_I hate those soldiers. Guys, how can just a few days and a near death experience change my mind so drastically? I always thought that everyone else was right, that the Islanders were sub-human and deserved to be treated this way, but they're more human than anyone else I've met._

_Verdammt, I miss you guys. If you were here, you could help me! Why aren't you guys responding, anyway? These letters take less than two days to get to you! Does the office just block all letters to the Islands?! If you haven't written, fucking write already and help me, I feel like I'm losing my mind! Nothing is like what I was told. Everything here is beautiful and amazing and the people are kind and hardworking and they don't smell bad, Francis, but it's terrifying because of us Mainlanders! We __are__ the problem and I don't know how to fix it! Just write back and tell me what the fuck I should do or give me advice or something, I'm having an internal crisis over here!_

_Sorry, got a little frustrated there. Seriously, write back. Tomorrow, Birdie will show me what he wanted to show me today, and I'll write again to tell you all about it. If I had a waterproof camera I'd take pictures, but it's underwater and Birdie says it's pitch black in there anyway. I wonder what he could possibly want to show me if it's pitch black. I bet it'll be interesting.  
><em>

_-Gil_

* * *

><p>I know the letter is very un-Gilbert like but it IS midnight for him and he IS going through a very confusing time, being very OOC is a good way to convey to your friends that you really need help.<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Hey guys! I was wanting to work on this day before yesterday while I was stuck at school for 4 1/2 hours after my class ended, but a friend of mine decided to stick around the entire four hours and, still, I get anxious and nervous writing in front of anybody.

Anyway, next week I start more classes and I'll be stuck at school at least 4 hours on Tuesdays, maybe six, so I'm hoping to get some writing done in those times.

I was wanting to post this yesterday... I started writing this after I woke up, I had a very fuzzy head and sore throat and stuff like that. I paused halfway through and later discovered I had a fever and slept it off, so I got about halfway through this chapter while sick, so forgive me for any mistakes.

In case you're wondering, I didn't do review responses in the last chapter since those reviews were two years old.

**QuirkyRevelations**: I've honestly always wanted to continue it but I got so busy with school and a few other things, but now I'm back and so the story continues! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter! Yeah, the Mainland soldiers are a major point in the story, I might go into why they act like they do later, or I might just leave it up to the readers' imagination. :)

**Zoewinter1**: Well I'm certainly glad you think so! I was trying my best to write in the way I think an excitable and rather egotistical person would when going through something serious like this, I thought I had failed but I'm glad to know I didn't! Thank you!

**Guest**: I'm certainly glad you think so! Thanks!

* * *

><p>"Francis! Zere is a letter for you!"<p>

Francis looked up from his book and smirked. "See, Toni? I told you 'e would send us letters today, ohonhon~" he chuckled, slipping a bookmark- which was shaped like a very beautiful, very voluptuous, very naked lady- between the pages and setting the book down.

His friend sat up from where he was reading a sports magazine. "Actually, Fran, amigo, I am the one who said he would."

"Same difference, no?" The blonde waved a hand dismissively as his mother, a stunning brunette lady who didn't look a day over twenty-six despite being almost forty, walked into the room with not one, but two letters in her hand. "Maman?"

She gave her son a brilliant smile and handed the letters over to him. "Sorry, two letters. I saw ze second one after calling for you."

The Frenchlander nodded in understanding and accepted the letters. "Merci maman~"

Once the lady left the room, Antonio dropped himself on the bed next to Francis and peered over his shoulder. "Which one are we supposed to read first?"

Francis studied the two letters before noticing a small difference. One was obviously stuffed in there, as though the sender had been eager and not very careful as he shoved the letter in. That was true Gilbert fashion when he was in a hurry and didn't have time to be careful.

The second one, however, was folded neatly and perfectly flat, as though each motion had been slow and deliberate and careful. Nothing was out of line, even the writing was neater despite definitely being Gilbert's. Usually, when they received letters from the not-German-I'm-Prussian, there was _something_ out of line, though not as extreme as the first letter. That sent alarm bells through Francis' head and he frowned.

"Let's read zis one first," he decided, setting the neater one down. "It looks like 'e was in a 'urry."

Antonio nodded in agreement, not noticing the worry in his friend's voice, and read over his shoulder. After he finished reading, he smiled. "So he accepted the Islander's proposal! I wonder if the other letter is telling us what the Islander was showing him?"

Francis nodded, though he was distracted. What could an Islander possibly show Gilbert that would make the Mainlander so excited?

"Though it is kind of sad, the living conditions there," Antonio continued, frowning at the second half of the letter. "Poor Matthew, being abandoned by his parents."

"And zis Arzur boy, does not even know he could 'ave been a Mainlander! Ah, so tragic," Francis sighed, setting the letter aside. "Let us read ze ozer letter and see if anyzing interesting did 'appen, oui?"

He picked up the letter and opened it swiftly, pulling it out with too much ease for being a letter from Gilbert. His eyes scanned over the page, reading the letter much too easily for comfort. When he looked at his friend, Antonio was still reading the letter with wide eyes.

"Surely he misunderstood the situation...?" Antonio suggested slowly, softly.

"I 'ave a feeling 'e did not," Francis replied, looking back at the worrying letter.

"No, I guess not. I sent a letter the day after he left."

"Oui, as did I."

"And one yesterday."

"Ze same for me."

"Did he really not get them?" Antonio asked, starting to fret himself.

"It would explain why 'e never actually responded to ze letters," Francis deadpanned, his gaze at the letter turning into a glare. "Ze Mainland soldiers are zere to protect ze Mainlanders, not punish ze Islanders. Zey were going to let Gilbert fall just so zey could shoot an Islander? I find zat 'ard to believe, but for some reason I believe it, Antoine."

"Me too, Franny, me too."

Francis frowned. "Perhaps we were going about zis ze wrong way, Antoine. Instead of sending a letter to Gilbert, we should send one to ze 'otel."

"But I thought the hotel didn't accept personal letters?" Antonio furrowed his brow in confusion.

"Zey do not," Francis confirmed. "But I never said we would be sending a personal letter, now did I?"

Antonio's brow furrowed in confusion before he finally understood. His eyes widened in surprise. "You want to make a reservation!"

Francis looked up from the letter, and Antonio could clearly see one thing; Francis was more than worried, he was more than mad. He was _angry._ "If zey have been removing letters to ze Islands, it would explain a lot. Perhaps all letters to anyone but to ze 'otel managers are blocked, in which case Gilbert's letters can get out, but our letters cannot get in."

"In which case the only choice we have is to go to the Islands," Antonio concluded, a tired look in his eyes as he realized Francis was right. There was no other way to contact Gilbert. "Alright. Let's make the reservations."

Francis nodded, looking back at the letter. "Zough zis "Matthew" make me curious... Didn't Alfred's mozer say zeir ozer son was named Matthew?"

"Are you suggesting we bring Alfred with us?"

* * *

><p>"Bruder, wake up! It's almost noon!"<p>

Gilbert jerked awake, shocked by the sudden shout. "Saywha'?" he groaned, sitting up and looking around. The alarm clock said it was 11:20 AM. He groaned and let his head hit the pillow. The Mainlander hadn't gotten to sleep until the sun had started rising around six, and five and a half hours was _so_ not enough sleep for him.

"Get up, zey will stop serving breakfast in ten minutes."

That got Gilbert's attention and he stared at the ceiling, debating with himself. Then he said, "Not hungry," and rolled over to go back to sleep.

"Oh no you don't, you child," Ludwig huffed, pulling his brother off of the bed and onto the floor with one swift tug. "Get up. veren't you supposed to meet zat Islander, Matzew, by noon?"

Gilbert blinked as he found himself on the carpeted floor, staring up at the ceiling again. "Oh yeah..." He grinned and pulled himself up from the floor. "He even said he vas going to leave ze farm early so he could show me zat zing..."

"Zing?" Ludwig raised a brow at that. "Und vhat "zing" is zis?"

"I don't know, I zink it is somezing under ze _wasser_. He asked me if I could open _meine Augen _under ze _wasser_," Gilbert explained, grabbing some clothes from his suitcase to pull on.

"You do realize ocean vater stings, ja?"

"Ja ja, he said he vould lend me some goggles," Gilbert grinned, ignoring Ludwig's amused expression. "If a letter comes for me, Luddy, vill you hold onto it?" he suddenly asked.

"Ja, of course. Just don't get yourself killed today."

"Trust me, ze only vay zat vould happen is if zose Mainland soldiers decide zey do not like me."

Gilbert felt Ludwig's eyes on him as he dashed out of the room and towards the elevator, not caring that the cafeteria was at the _top _of the building as he had no plans to go there.

Stepping into the elevator, Gilbert went down to the ground floor. Behind the counter was Elizaveta, and Gilbert paused to speak to her.

"If a letter comes for me just give it to _mein Bruder_, Ludwig. If it is from Francis Bonnefoy or Antonio Carriedo, it is for me!" he added, heading towards the door. He thought for a moment that the woman called for him, but he dismissed it in favour of dashing down the front steps and towards the bridge.

If he had stayed, Elizaveta would have informed him that there was no need to await a letter; the mail had already run and she had already received something from Bonnefoy. But it wasn't a letter.

* * *

><p>Matthew glanced at the sky, a bit alarmed to realize there was less than half an hour until noon. It took at least fifteen minutes to walk the train bridge, ten if you ran the whole way, and he still needed to eat lunch before he was supposed to meet up with Gilbert. He sighed, looking over towards Lovino.<p>

Lovino wasn't in the best mood, probably because he had been able to wring the fact that Matthew planned on showing the tunnels to a Mainlander out of the blonde as well as leave early. The fact that Matthew recounted the events of the day before to him definitely didn't help. No one liked being told that their best friend nearly got shot because of some Islander said best friend found interesting.

Taking a deep breath and mentally preparing himself for the yelling complaints, Matthew called out, "Lovino, I'm going to head back now!"

Much to his surprise, Lovino only said, "Don't try to fucking kill yourself today, bastardo."

Matthew blinked in surprise then smiled slightly. "Don't worry, Lovino~"

"I'm not fucking worried!" the farmer quickly shot at him, but the blonde was already leaving the field to hang his tool up. Matthew laughed softly, a sound the farmers in the field would barely hear on the wind, and headed to the shed.

He stretched and started walking towards the "train station" but paused as he noticed something along the horizon

It was the... train cart? Matthew stared in confusion as it approached the station, piled high with wood and stones secured with a rope. It didn't make sense to Matthew- the train cart only ran on Monday and Wednesday, not Friday.

Matthew sighed as he waited for the cart to stop at the end of the rail. "Just glad I wasn't walking on the bridge, eh," he muttered to himself, jumping up onto the rail after the train cart stopped. He knew the walk across the bridge was only about fifteen minutes, twenty if careful, and the train cart would stay at the station until someone on the farm Island sent it back, and considering Lovino and Feliciano weren't expecting it, that could be a while. So he should be safe. He hoped.

He stretched and walked along the bridge, enjoying the ocean breeze. Yes, how could anyone hate life there? Besides the Mainland soldiers and the fact that they were practically slaves and everything they did was for the benefit of their oppressors, life there was paradise.

Well... kind of. It wasn't like the Islands didn't have their own problems outside of the Mainland, they just never had time to deal with said problems. None of them minded, though. After all, whatever happened they would deal with together as one people.

"Excuse me, sorry," a voice spoke up, startling Matthew. He was about halfway across the bridge and found himself face-to-face with Ludwig.

"O-oh! I'm sorry!" Matthew apologized, stepping to the side enough for Ludwig to get by. The bridge was just wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side, if they were careful, but Matthew would prefer if the Mainlander didn't stand so close to the edge. He knew he himself might have a chance at surviving but he had no idea how Ludwig would fare.

"For ze record," Ludwig started as he passed, "Gilbert is already standing beside your house. I zink your friend, Arzur was it, is suspicious of his intentions."

Matthew was a bit shocked. "But I said meet at noon, not half noon."

"He seems eager to see whatever it is zat you are vanting to show him," Ludwig said with a shrug. "Have a good day, Matzew."

"Um... you too, Ludwig," Matthew replied, watching the Mainlander continue along the train bridge. He was jogging along the bridge, which rather surprised the Islander, but he decided not to question it and continued back towards the main Island.

When he reached the Island, he slipped out of the "station" and headed towards his house on the cliff, where sure enough the albino Mainlander was waiting. As soon as Gilbert spotted him, he grinned and waved. Matthew couldn't help but smile back... but at the same time he couldn't help but glance over at the nearby soldiers.

None of them were watching him.

Matthew let out a relieved sigh and headed up the hill to his house. "You're here early."

"Ze awesome me is never early or late," Gilbert declared with a smirk. "Vhat vere you vanting to show me?"

"I need to eat lunch first," Matthew laughed a bit, heading inside the house. Gilbert, curious, followed.

"So if you vere raised by ze almost-Briton, vhy do you not live viz him?" he asked, glancing around the house. He realized quickly that this was the house he had observed first, where he had been able to see directly into the bedroom as it was on level with the hotel island's cliff.

"I'm seventeen," Matthew said simply, as though that explained everything. Gilbert just looked at him. Matthew rolled his eyes in response. "On the Islands, most people move out of their parents' house when they hit sixteen. Arthur only stays at the fishery because it's his job and he has to care for his little brother."

"I didn't know you could build houses," Gilbert commented, gazing around the house.

It was rather impressive, for an Islander's home. As he had observed the first day, there did seem to be a "downstairs" hanging off of the side of the cliff. He could just see the beginning of stairs disappearing under the floor. Above the "downstairs" seemed to be a sitting area with a lone, bare bookcase sitting in the corner, next to the hole the stairs made in the floor. To the left of the door was a small kitchen area, the woodstove right next to the door. A crudely-made fridge was against the wall, and a wooden chest was to the right of the fridge. A table with only three places to sit sat, shoved against the wall, to the right of the door. His arm almost brushed against the back of the chair.

He couldn't see the bedroom, but he knew it was down the stairs.

The house was small enough that it would take him five steps to reach the stairs. Eight to reach the other side of the house.

"I didn't," Matthew said, bringing Gilbert out of his observations. "It used to belong to a family friend. He was taken with Arthur's father and brothers. He had no spouse or children, and he died in the mines a year after being taken... so when I turned sixteen, the others decided I should take this house, since no one would be returning to it."

Gilbert listened quietly to this and looked around the house again, seeing it in a new light. Built by a family friend who didn't get to live his life there. He could see it.

The sitting area looked like it could have been a bedroom of some kind. He remembered Arthur's house, where the sleeping quarters were in view of the front door. It wouldn't surprise him at all if Matthew's "living room" was originally meant to be sleeping quarters... and the downstairs part meant for a child's bedroom.

"He was engaged, though," Matthew mentioned, opening up his chest and rummaging through it. He pulled out a pair of goggles. "She died, too, barely a month after we received the news."

"How?" Gilbert asked, though something told him he already knew.

"The soldiers," was the simple, expected response. "She loved him very much, and she blamed them for his death." There was a brief pause. "We all do."

Gilbert watched as the blonde set the goggles down on the table and then went to the fridge. Remembering that Matthew still needed to eat, he sat down in one of the chairs.

"Vhy does Arzur have _drei_ _Betten_?" he asked. Matthew looked confused for a moment, before he seemed to realize what Gilbert was asking.

"That third bed isn't mine, if that's what you're thinking," Matthew told him. "We brought my bed to this house. That third bed is there, in hopes that at least one of his brothers returns. Or even father," Matthew added quietly, turning to the stove to light it.

"How many brozers does he have?"

"Three, not including Peter. Alistair, Connor, and James- age order, all older than him. Alistair was eighteen when he was taken, Connor almost sixteen, and James was fourteen."

Gilbert frowned in thought. "Zat isn't a very large age gap between Arzur and... James, vas it?"

"Twins," was the very simple, blunt response.

"Oh..." Gilbert blinked, rather surprised. He hadn't thought that the irate almost-Briton would have had a twin. "Vhy are such young boys being taken to ze mines?"

"Because there aren't enough strong, adult Islanders," Matthew told him. "We're all still waiting for the day they begin taking the strong girls and women, too. I think they only leave them be so they can produce more children."

This made Gilbert frown as he watched the blonde man cook... something, he wasn't sure what, on the woodstove. Whatever it was, the simple look of it made Gilbert even less hungry than he was before.

"Vell zhat's horrible," Gilbert muttered. Matthew glanced over at the Mainlander, furrowing his brow a bit, but Gilbert ignored the look.

"So, vhat are you vanting to show me?" Gilbert asked, picking the goggles up and playing with the straps and putting them on his head.

"Under the island there's a series of tunnels," Matthew answered.

"Vait, tunnels under ze island? Und you vant us to svim zrough zem? Excuse me but I do not vant to drown."

"You won't drown," Matthew laughed. "The tunnel has several air pockets and even some underground caverns."

"Und how do zey have oxygen?"

Matthew shrugged a bit, grabbing a wooden plate to put his food on. "They just do."

Gilbert still looked very unsure about it. "So you have done zis before?"

"Every other week," Matthew confirmed. "With Arthur and Lovino. Sometimes we drag Yao along but he finds it all pretty stupid, so, eh..."

The Mainlander watched as the blonde Islander sat down to eat the food that Gilbert was, frankly, too afraid to ask the identity of. It was nothing that a Mainlander would eat.

After several moments of silence, in which Matthew began eating his small meal, Gilbert finally said, "Alright zen, I vill svim zrough zese tunnels vith you. But if I drown, I vill haunt your ass."

Matthew smiled, amusement dancing in his eyes, and nodded. "Alright then."

Gilbert couldn't help but give a grin in response to that smile. It was such a gentle, soft smile, and Gilbert just couldn't picture this person doing hard labor. It was no wonder he was never carted off to the mines.

"Alright zen, it is a deal!"


End file.
